I am the Shadow
by SpartanEngineer
Summary: Some heroes live forever as legends. Some die before they are born. And some struggle on, their story unsung to the generations to come. This is one such song, unearthed from the darkness.
1. Awakening

_A blinding flash of light_

_Smell of smoke and ashes_

_Weight of his first assault rifle_

_Small smile at the holo_

_Knot in his stomach_

_Sweat trickling down his arm_

_A blinding flash of light_

The young human opened his eyes. He scanned the room that he was in. It was a small room, with graceful curves arcing down from the ceiling, lit softly in a hue of blue. It had a distinctive sting in the air; the smell of antibiotics. A small table was near the door, with his black armour and weapons arranged in a neat pile. They were burnt and scarred, and some were clearly broken beyond repair, yet somebody had bothered to look after it. A sign on the left chest of the armour read "Jackson, L".

_Asari hospital_, he thought. He had never been in one before, but he knew enough about asaris to know. He relaxed a little, knowing that this place was most likely safe. For now.

He glanced up, realising with a start that he had at least ten hoses plugged into his body. Three machines worked with a low hum at the head of his bed, keeping him alive. He closed his eyes, and flexed his thin body. Legs? Check. Ten toes? Check. Knees? One had a bandage, and it hurt to move it, but it seemed okay. Arms? Check. Hands? Check. Omni-tool? Broken, but that wasn't surprising. Biotics…

Jackson opened his eyes again, fear taking hold of him. He tried again, staring wide-eyes at his hands. He could not summon his powers. No tell-tale sign of blue glow. No tingling sensation. Nothing.

He then realised what had happened before he lost consciousness.

_Ah, crap._ Jackson closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. _In the middle of some asari hospital, damn near dying, and I have no way of defending myself. Guns broken, armour useless… Damn, I need to replenish._

His hands instinctively went to his stomach, grabbing at nothing but the soft bed sheet. He noticed what he had just done, and chuckled silently. He glanced back at the table, noticing that his eezo bottle was still there, still attached to his armour. His arm extended towards his armour, as if trying to pull it towards him, but nothing happened.

This time he laughed. Feeling helpless and stupid, he decided to simply relax.

_Let's hope that these asaris aren't planning to sell me._ He closed his eyes, and was soon sound asleep.

…

Kisa entered the room. She glanced at the human who she was assigned to. He was found alone, just outside system, inside a broken gunship. It was emitting a rescue signal in all frequencies, travelling in near-FTL speeds. The rescue workers had a hard time trying to figure out how to approach it safely. In the end, they used non-explosive missiles to reduce its speed.

When they discovered him, clad in his unusual-looking suit, they weren't sure what to do with him. He could not be positively identified, and all his gear were custom-made and severely modified to the point where they looked nothing like the guns that pirates would carry. The only thing that gave the officials "all-clear" was his Systems-Alliance symbol on his left shoulder pad. The incident was thankfully kept a secret, lest it made the tourists afraid of some sort of attack. Not that anybody sane would attack Nevos.

_Then again, there are lots of crazy people out there._Kisa thought as she checked the machines' readings. They were all positive. In fact, this human should have woken up by now.

She marvelled at the speed which he recovered. In all honesty, she thought that he was dead. Even after the surgeries with cutting-edge technology and medical synthetics, the human wasn't likely going to survive. She had felt sorry for the man: who knew what he had went through?

But in mere 32 standard hours, this human could walk. It became clear to her that the man in front of her was not normal. She looked carefully at his face. It wasn't handsome, but likable. It had a faint trace of a grin, and was definitely friendly.

_Well, friendly if you ignore the scars._ Kisa thought. He had two old scars on his left cheek, and one fresh one across his forehead. They weren't very noticeable and didn't interfere with his general charisma. If anything, they enhanced it.

As she turned to leave, she heard a small moan. She spun around, and saw the man taking a deep breath. His eyes fluttered open, immediately scanning the room, right to left. Military style.

His eyes locked onto her face. He had black iris. Not uncomfortable black, but soft, soothing black. One that somebody could look into, and see their reflection. He smiled cheerfully.

"Hello", Jackson said.

"Hi. It's good to see that you've recovered. You've been out for some time. Do you feel dizzy?" Kisa asked. She realised that she spoke a little hurriedly, something that she had never done in the hospital.

_You idiot! That's bad for the patients!_

"No, I'm fine. Where am I? What time is it?"

Kisa remembered the fact that his omni-tool was broken. She reached into her pocket and drew out a new one. Standard-issue, human-made. The hospital kept a few just in case their patient's broke. He accepted the new omni-tool gratefully.

"We're in Nevos, currently eight hundred … no, June 2nd, 2185 human standard time." Kisa had to check her omni-tool to make sure she got the conversion right. Even after a hundred years or so, she weren't sure about Citadel-to-Human conversions.

Jackson was mildly surprised. 2nd of June… less than a week after him and his team entered Beta-Two relay. That meant that he was knocked out for about four days. He made sure that the asari couldn't read his face, and put on the omni-tool.

"Okay… Thank you very much."

"I'll get you a cup of water. Your body has almost recovered, but you'll need some rest before you can walk". Kisa said with a smile. Usually, her smile was mechanical. This time, it wasn't.

"Thanks."

Kisa walked toward the back of the room, and got a plastic cup from the drawer. Jackson only then realised that there was a water purifier and a closet at the back of the room.

_I must be really tired._He thought. _I missed something that large_.

He drank the cool, healing water, feeling life flow back into his body. He needed more.

The asari, noticing his thirst, filled his cup again more. The human thanked her again and drank deeply.

_He is well mannered._ Kisa thought. _Unlike the other human that was here before_.

"Get some rest. You should be good to go in another day or so. Don't worry about anything for now. Do you need anything?"

Jackson chuckled. The asari clearly didn't know who he was or what he was doing. If she did, than she wouldn't ask a question like that. He vaguely remembered the last time somebody asked him the question… Perhaps five years ago?

"Well, I need a lot of things. More than you can possibly imagine. But for now, I should be fine. Thank you."

Kisa noticed what he meant, and smiled. _Secrets, hmm? That's… enticing_. She started to walk out of the room. Jackson realised that he did need something right now.

"Uh…"

"Yes?" Kisa turned around, looking at the human once more.

"Could you get me that little bottle on my armour? It's there, just below the chest plate." He pointed at the small, cylindrical container.

She was curious about his armour. Completely black, it was shaped unlike anything she had ever seen. It wasn't clad in plating like the ones that normal soldiers wore, and yet she recognised the cutting-edge kinetic barrier lacings weaved throughout the armour. The design was angular and geometric, which could be both menacing and comforting depending on the situation. It was clearly expensive, and very heavy. The armour was designed to withstand a firefight. She reached down and pulled lightly at the cylinder.

It came off more easily than she had expected. As she held the container, she could feel a tingling sensation.

_By the goddess!_She thought. _This… thing is filled with element zero!_

Jackson was also surprised that the container came off so easily. Perhaps the strap was burnt off. He noticed the asari's shocked expression. There was only one reason that was possible.

_Damn. I should have realised that asaris could sense eezo._

Kisa turned to the human, sweating slightly. He gave her a solemn nod. _What could he be doing with all that element zero?_

"Don't worry about its contents, please. Trust me." The human whispered. His voice was pleading, but had a sense of reassurance. He was a natural leader with compelling voice and confident posture.

Kisa gave the human the bottle, and looked directly at his face. His face was grim. He seemed to understand her shock.

"Trust me." He repeated.

"I do." Kisa replied, surprised at how true her words felt. It was rare for her to trust strangers, especially one who asked for a bottle of element zero. She smiled, but left the room in a hurry.

Jackson shook his head and let out a little sigh. He opened the bottle, and drank deeply. He felt his whole body tingling with power. As he closed his bottle, thin wisps of blue rose from his hands.

He put the bottle next to him, and curled up to sleep.

Kisa watched from the outside window, muffling her terror.


	2. A Name

Kisa paced her room, spinning a chair mid-air with her biotics. It was a habit that she picked up when she was younger. Her friends knew to stay away from her when she started to spin a chair.

Three days had passed since Lone Wolf (that's what most of the hospital staff had referred to him as) woke up. He had immediately paid for the services that he had received (retrieved from his broken omni-tool), and asked for a place where he could stay for a couple of days. By then, Nevos security forces had him under a house arrest for "Suspicious loitering" and "Inappropriate behaviour on board a dangerous vehicle", so the hospital re-fitted one of the staff residents for him.

Kisa understood reason for the arrest – they simply didn't know who he was or what he wanted. Although he cooperated well with the authorities, he refused to give any piece of information about him. Not even a name (the authorities suspected that "L. Jackson" was his name, but there were so many humans under that name that they gave up). The fact that he arrived in a damaged gunship (fitted with top quality anti-personnel machine guns and a dazzling assortment of missiles) didn't help either.

_And he drinks eezo_. Kisa added.

She didn't understand was why she was assigned to watch over him. She wasn't part of the security force – the only reason why she was chosen was because she was the first person to speak to him after he woke. Maybe they were afraid? Or maybe they still didn't trust her history?

Kisa wasn't complaining about the person: Wolf was a nice person. She was just afraid about his actions.

_Why would anybody drink eezo? How is it possible that he is still alive?_ Kisa had checked Wolf's blood readings, his breath test and even his excrement readings – no eezo. Other than the fact that he suddenly gained biotic abilities, nothing had changed. In her nearly 400 years of life, she could not recall any living being consuming eezo. That really scared her.

_Perhaps I was wrong._ Kisa reasoned, as she left the room. _Perhaps I should just ask him._

She was afraid to ask.

…

Jackson wasn't stupid. He knew that every movement he made was being monitored. Everything he did with the omni-tool was being recorded. So he stayed put, acting as if he was a bounty hunter. He couldn't reveal to anybody who he truly was.

He did, however, searched for his team's name. Not on the extranet, but on the Systems Alliance casualties list. Although he and his team weren't part of the Alliance, if they were killed, then they would be honoured as an Alliance soldier.

_They better._ Jackson thought grimly. He pressed enter.

**No Data Available**

He sighed in relief. Perhaps some others had made it out alive.

He flipped to the Most Wanted Criminals list, continuing his act as a soldier of fortune. His eyes rolled across various subjects; human, batarian, batarian, Turian, human, human, human, asari…

He heard a knock on his door.

He wasn't sure if he should grab his guns. He had fixed most of them already thanks to all the expensive equipment that he had bought. He was surprised that a tourist planet like Nevos had such interest in weapons technology, but he wasn't arguing. His armour was mostly functional, and he had also managed to buy some liquid eezo.

_Should I grab the gun? If it's the enemy, then I shouldn't need the gun to kill them. If it's a friend, then having a gun sends the wrong message. But having a gun also sends the message of "I'm a badass mercenary, so piss off" message._ Jackson thought, rather pointlessly. He was already walking over to the door, his body having made the decision.

The door opened, and the asari nurse smiled nervously at him.

_A friend. A poor, nervous and shocked friend._

"Hello" Jackson said. "You don't need to check on me every hour. The cameras should be doing that." He pointed at five cameras that was on the ceiling. He knew that only one of them was real. He also knew that there were seven more scattered around the residence, well hidden, but not "well-hidden" enough.

"Hello. Yes, well, I had come to ask you something." Kisa replied

_Is this about eezo? It's about that eezo bottle, isn't it? If she starts to ask me that in here I'll-_

"About that... thing that you had-."

Kisa realised that her mouth could no longer move. She could not open it at all; as if a pair of invisible hands were grabbing it. She looked wide-eyed at Lone Wolf, whose eyes seemed to be saying "Shut up! Please!" in the most subtle way possible. Kisa had lived long enough to receive the cue, so she coughed.

Jackson released her. _At least she's fast to notice things_.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, it's fine." Kisa said. "I might need some fresh air though."

_She's pretty smart, too._

"Let's go out together. I wouldn't mind seeing Nevos' famous moons."

…

As soon as they reached the observatory at the top of the building, Jackson scanned the whole area. The sky was already dark, and moons were only just starting to rise. The hospital curved snugly into the fold of the mountain. It was small and yet brightly lit, though the platform they were standing on was in the comfortable shadows. It overlooked the city, which shone in thousands of colours. The view was beautiful.

Jackson didn't sense any machines nearby. They were safe here.

"Yes, I did drink eezo." Jackson said without waiting for her to ask. "Don't worry, it's a usual thing for me. Just… don't ask further." Jackson trusted the asari in front of him, but he didn't know why. It was a stupid thing to do – to trust someone blindly. But he didn't argue with his gut feelings.

She also reminded him of an old feeling he had vowed to forget.

The asari walked over to the railing, and stood silently. Even in the dark, Jackson could see that she was scared. He joined her at the balcony, leaning out towards the city. He enjoyed the view. The moons were starting to rise to their full majesty.

"What is your name? I forgot to ask." Jackson asked casually. The asari looked at him with a small smile.

"You're asking the very question that everyone else has been asking about you."

"Well, an eezo-drinking human is obviously up to no good, isn't he? Not giving a name shouldn't be a surprise to you." Jackson replied playfully.

"I guess you have a point." She sighed. "My name is Kisa." There was a brief pause.

"My name is Jackson."

Kisa stared at him, surprised at his reply. She didn't expect the answer to come so easily. She realised that this man trusted her, at least a little bit.

"Thank you."

"For a name?"

"For your trust."

Jackson smiled. This asari … Kisa, was really smart. He guessed that living for hundreds of years had something to do with it. He wasn't sure about her age, but she was _at least _two hundred years old. He looked out towards the city. If she was this smart, then maybe he could...

He stopped. He knew that he was making up excuses.

"Everyone else calls you Lone Wolf."

Jackson burst into laughter. A quiet, but a hearty laugh. Lone Wolf was a nickname he was quite familiar with. He didn't like going into a mission with a team, since he normally got himself into situations where only he would survive. Every time, no matter how hard he tried, he was the sole survivor. Hence the nickname, Lone Wolf.

He stopped laughing when he realised that his crew might be all dead. Two weeks ago, he had allowed his 'Lone Wolf' style to loosen up, just for the mission. Now, because of that, everyone else was dead. He knew it wasn't his fault. He knew this was grief, loss, sadness. It was something familiar.

But he didn't care. He _wanted_ to feel guilty.

Kisa sensed his distress. It was clear that he was remembering a troubled past, something to do with 'Lone Wolf'.

"That sounds… fitting." Jackson replied. "Come on, let's go in. You've stopped coughing." He smiled at her. She wasn't fooled. She wanted to help this human. Helping people was what she was good at.

"Are you really okay?"

Jackson didn't reply, and walked towards the entrance. Kisa looked at him with a worried expression. A cold wind blew over from the mountain, making her shiver for a brief moment. She followed Jackson back into the hospital.

…

"We have him, ma'am!"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, ma'am! He searched for his team on the Alliance casualty list!"

"Where is he?"

"On Nevos ma'am, Matra Hospital!"

"Right! There's _finally_ some freaking use in spending all that money on you! Plot a course to Nevos and call the boss! We need him alive! Make sure everyone is ready!"


	3. Meeting

From: LoneWolf247

To: KisanaSoracNevos; SorceressTheaAAA;

Hello, I am Lone Wolf.

If you have time, please meet me at Overlook Restaurant, 19:00 today (local time).

I have something of great importance to discuss with you both.

P.S. If you don't trust me, then just remember the fact that you will get to dine in Overlook.

…

The Chief Police Officer Casmo was annoyed. The man, Lone Wolf, could not be positively identified. He technically didn't break any laws either. But his amazing collection of weapons (which outmatched her strike team by a gunship and two rocket launchers) scared her. Though they were confiscated, it still didn't make her feel any safe. An attempt to trace his guns were a flop, too. They were custom-made with top-quality materials, and then modified further to fit the user. Only one, the "Mattock" was traceable – to a black market apprehended five years only characteristic that his guns shared was that they used both thermal clips and self-cooling systems.

She wanted to simply walk up to him and punch him in the face to get him talking.

Instead, she signed his release.

…

Jackson sat comfortably in his hotel room, overlooking the sea. It had been quite some time since he could enjoy the luxuries of credits. He had a lot of them, but he never got to use them. After losing _her_, not a single credit was used for himself… until now.

He had left the hospital as soon as he was released, walking downtown for no real purpose. Jackson was almost sure that half the buildings in Nevos were hotels. He chose the most expensive-looking one.

Thinking back, he should have left the planet immediately and contacted the Alliance command, but he didn't want to answer questions about his ship.

_And now, I'm trying to make a new one._ Jackson curled his fist, his powers being summoned automatically. He didn't want to do this, but what he found out beyond the Beta-Two relay was… terrifying. He had to stop it.

Trying to clear his memory, he threw his datapad onto the bed and left the room. He did need something formal to wear for the meeting tonight, and the closest "thing" he had to a formal dine-ware was his armour. He chuckled quietly as he closed the door.

_Feels like a date._

The datapad displayed two documents, all bought from the Shadow Broker. Jackson could get any piece of information that the Shadow Broker had from deal from a long time ago.

…

Name: Kisana Sorac

Race: Asari

Age: 386

Homeworld: Thessia

Family: Parents are both asari. Her "father" died of old age. Her mother currently works as a diplomat on Earth. No sisters. One cousin: Thea Sorac.

Career:

- Studied military cryptography on Palaven.

- Worked as a Software Bug Broker for 7 years.

- Briefly, for 2 years, worked with the Eclipse mercenary group.

- Joined Thea Sorac and became the "Sorceress Group".

- Active hacker within the Terminus Systems for 159 years.

- Once hacked into Shadow Broker's files, stealing thousands of top-level documents

- Notable for donating a majority of her wealth

- Retired last year from information warfare, currently working in Matra Hospital as a nurse.

Victims:

- Nick Jaon, human, Eclipse initiation murder, later discovered to be a slave trader

- Grime, krogan warlord, jewellery robbery 25 000 credits, later discovered to be illegally smuggled money from refugees

- Vonic Balon, volus, hacking robbery 59 000 credits, later discovered to be illegally gained money from tax

- Blood Pack, mercenary group, solid-element zero heist worth 500 000 credits

- Eclipse, mercenary group, hacking robbery 769 871 credits

- Shadow Broker, hacking robbery 1764 documents relating to high-level security systems, later repaid voluntarily with 2400 credits (which, I will note, is far too little).

- Countless other small information hackings…

Extranet Address: KisanaSoracNevos

…

Name: Thea Sorac

Race: Asari

Age: 398

Homeworld: Thessia

Family: Turian father (died of old age), mother killed during the Geth War, One sister (location unknown, MIA during a security patrol three hundred years ago), one cousin: Kisana Sorac

Career:

- Joined asari commandos,

- Active service for 92 years

- Briefly, for 2 years, worked with Eclipse mercenary group

- Joined Kisana Sorac and became "Sorceress Group"

- Active high-profile robber and assassin for 160 years

- Notable for killing only those on the "Wanted" list and few members from the police force

- Also donated a majority of her wealth

Victims:

- Doe (name unknown), Eclipse initiation murder, later discovered to be a chain murderer

- Koam, hanar, murder and heist 17 000 credits, later discovered to be Red Sand drug lord

- Actus Sinoris, turian, murder and heist 79 000 credits, later discovered to be weapons smuggler

- Naumi, asari, murder and heist 81 000 credits, later discovered to be an ardat-yakshi

- John Hood, human police, murder and heist 46 000 credits, later discovered to be co-operating with the Blue Suns

- Grime, krogan warlord, jewellery robbery 25 000 credits, later discovered to be illegally smuggled money from refugees

- Blood Pack, mercenary group, solid-element zero heist worth 500 000 credits

- Countless others…

Extranet Address: SorceressTheaAAA

…

Thea shot at the hologram enthusiastically, laughing like a maniac. She was smashing the combat simulator's records by two hundred kills. And she wasn't done yet. The crowd went wild. They had never seen such a fighter before on Nevos.

As she shot down the last enemy, the little companion drone exploded. Her score had overloaded it. She beamed pleasantly at the crowd. Half of them were cheering for her score. The other half was mad because she was beautiful.

Back in the lockers, she received the message sent by Lone Wolf. She noticed that her cousin was also mailed. This man clearly knew about the Sorceress Group. She laughed at his last comment.

_Overlook Restaurant, hmm? This man must be rich! He better be a "good" guy!_

She packed her body armour, combat omni-tool enhancers, guns and her sporting wear, and left. The meeting weren't supposed to happen for another hour or so, but she was excited. Maybe she could finally get her cousin to hook up with somebody!

_Or shoot somebody._ She thought, as she holstered her gun, hidden beneath her t-shirt.

Either way, it will be a good night.

…

Kisa was enjoying her day off near the beachfront. After years of adventure, she had come to appreciate peace. She wished that there was someone to share this peace with, and immediately thought of Jackson. She blushed and shook her head. That mysterious man would have left the system by now.

_I wish him luck._

Her omni-tool beeped. It was 17:23.

An hour later, she was rummaging frantically through her wardrobe, searching for the appropriate dress to wear. Kisa's apartment was not far from the hospital, and was rather small. She had decided to live modestly like a normal person. Right now though, she was far from normal. Her usually-clean bedroom was in complete chaos, mainly from the clothes that were strewn across the room. A chair was spinning wildly behind her.

_Why am I even bothering so much?_ She thought. Overlook Restaurant was indeed a very expensive place, but that didn't explain why she was looking for the perfect dress for half an hour.

Finally, she found her favourite green dress, folded neatly underneath her combat gear. Even when she had retired from her life on the run, she kept most of her gear as memory. She put on her dress, which still fit her body nicely. It was expensive, made in Thessia. A gift from her dead auntie. She closed her eyes to thank her.

The chair finally dropped to the floor.

…

The attendant at Overlook glanced at the reservation list. The restaurant was renowned for its luxury, but he wasn't sure what people found "luxurious" about a crowded dining hall. He guessed that it had something to do with food. The bottom floor was almost full, but the top floor was eerily empty. Only three private rooms were filled, mainly because each room reservation alone cost 5000 credits. He glanced at his omni-tool; 6:55 pm.

A human walked quietly up the staircase. The salarian attendant noticed his expensive-looking clothes, three barely-noticeable facial scars and a small grin. Oh how he hated these rich people!

"Ah, you must be Mr Wolf! Welcome to Overlook Restaurant!" He greeted cheerfully, attempting to hide his disgust.

The human scanned the room right to left, and replied "Yes, I am Mr Wolf. Thank you."

"Please come this way. Your room number is 3. Do you have any guests with you?" The salarian asked. Jackson noticed that this salarian clearly hated him, although he was very good at hiding it.

"Yes. Two asaris, both with the surname Sorac. Please let them in as soon as they arrive." With that, the human tipped the salarian and walked towards room 3.

…

"He's in the restaurant right now. We'll be able to reach him in 30 minutes."

"Send two strike teams! And a gunship! I don't want any civilian casualties!"

The communications officer looked up in surprise. It was rare that her Eclipse captain ordered "no civilian casualties". She sensed that something big was going to happen.

She would never be more accurate.


	4. Overlook Restaurant

Thea stood impatiently outside the Overlook restaurant. The waiting line was impossibly long, which was to be expected. It was a very popular place after all. She looked longingly at the Premium line, which was completely empty. She contemplated paying for a premium room herself.

_Where is this guy?_Thea looked at her omni-tool. 19:00, exactly. Keeping your guests waiting in a line was a bad way to start a business.

Thea attempted to trace Lone Wolf's extranet address, but it was incredibly well encrypted. Kisa could probably hack through them though, but she had a hunch that Lone Wolf and Kisa had already met. She glanced up and saw Kisa walking towards her, wearing her favourite green dress. That was something special.

_Yup, Mr Lone Wolf has met her. I wonder if he's cute._ Thea thought. She was glad that she decided to go with the dress instead of her training gear. If she didn't, then she might have ruined her cousin's first date. She smiled cheerfully and waved at her cousin.

…

Kisa always wondered how Thea managed to stay so young. She was more than ten years older than her, and yet she seemed to have never grown tired of adventure. The only reason why she was on Nevos was to help her settle into a more peaceful life. In about a month's time, Thea will probably find herself wisped into another crazy heist. Kisa continuously fretted with her dress, trying to take out the tiny crease down the side.

"Hey! How are you? How is the hospital?" Thea asked.

"Okay, I guess. No problems, and I'm settling in quite well. I'm even making some friends!" Kisa answered, realising that the only person she considered a 'friend' in the hospital was Jackson. During his brief stay, he was always kind and well-mannered, attempting to help whenever he can. Other than his veiled nature, he was extremely likable.

"So who is this mysterious figure who's invited us into the most expensive restaurant in the city and left us to wait?" Thea seemed a little annoyed.

"A human male. I took care of him in the hospital. He was found in a gunship, half-dead." Kisa replied. "I thought he had left the system, but apparently not."

_And I'm glad that he didn't._

"Hmm… I thought he was your new boyfriend or something." Thea suggested. She laughed when Kisa blushed. "So he is your new boyfriend?"

"No. Not yet."

Thea smiled. She was still a little worried, since this man knew about the Sorceress Group. However, if her cousin trusted him, then she could probably relax. Still, she checked her gun.

A salarian staff, who was guarding the premium line, walked up to them.

"Miss Sorac?"

They both turned towards him.

"Please come this way. Mr Wolf is already inside and is waiting for you."

Both asaris were surprised that Lone Wolf had booked a private room. He was clearly very rich.

_A rich boyfriend, hu?_ Thea grinned. _I never knew Kisa had such a good taste._

…

_The whole team is dead. All because of him._

_And the monsters were coming. Their destruction was inevitable._

_They had to stop them. At all costs. If not for themselves, then for the lives in the future._

_He needed to tell somebody. He needed help. He needed to fight. He needed a team._

_But nobody will believe him._

_Nobody._

Somebody knocked the door. Jackson jumped up in surprise. The blue mist that had surrounded his body quickly dissipated into thin air.

"Mr Wolf? Your guests are here."

"Please let them in."

Jackson stood up, being careful not to disturb the food that decorated the table. He smiled warmly at the two asaris that entered the room, his eyes lingering on Kisa and her admirable green dress.

_She's more beautiful than I thought._

Both Kisa and Thea smiled back, although Thea's smile was a mask. He sensed that she was very tense, ready to fight. Jackson also sensed that she carried a gun.

"Hello, my name is Wolf." He welcomed them.

As soon as the door shut, he retracted his statement, "My name is actually Jackson. Liam Jackson. I would like to talk to you both about an important matter. But please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable. I have a long story to tell you."

…

The Soracs were shocked. The exquisite food that lay on the table was completely forgotten. His story was short, hidden and very brief. But it told of horrors and responsibility beyond anything they had ever imagined. Kisa knew that Jackson was unusual, but she had never imagined _this_.

He introduced himself as a commandeering soldier of the HIGHCOM Strike Group; a small, secret human task force formed merely three years ago. He didn't tell much about his job, or about HIGHCOM itself, except to mention that they were a strike team dedicated to taking down major and unusual threats to mankind. They had stumbled across a Prothean beacon three months years ago, the similar to the one that Commander Shepard, the legendary Spectre, had claimed to have seen. Unlike the Commander, Jackson's team managed to extract the information systematically, decoding the information one by one. After about a month's work, they had a working, human-friendly video.

Jackson reluctantly played it for them.

It showed destruction. Despair. Extinction. Giant machines hungry for life.

Reapers.

But the video also had something else: a set of galactic coordinates, pointing towards a location a week's journey away from Silean Nebula… just beyond the outer edge of the galaxy.

Jackson gathered a team and travelled to the location. There, he and his ship found a Mass Relay. It was a Beta-type relay, having only one other mass relay to which it connected. It was massive, its length was triple to that of Charon Relay and was powered by a core that was as large as a Size-2 star. Fittingly, someone from Jackson's team named it Beta-Two. Jackson ordered his ship to enter the relay, sending others back to report their findings.

"And?" Thea whispered.

Jackson hesitated before continuing.

"I won't say what is beyond Beta-Two. Not yet. What I will say is that I need another team to stop the Reapers. I need another team to go through Beta-Two again."

"But… what happened to the rest of your crew?" Kisa asked. She already knew the answer: he was the lone survivor. Somehow, whatever happened, he was the only one to escape alive in a gunship.

"I don't know." Jackson closed his eyes. "Look, if this is a complete suicide, then I won't ask anyone to come again. But I think I know a way to survive and win. A way-"

**BANG!**

The sound was muffled by the closed, near-soundproof walls, but the trio could still hear the gunshot. They flinched, but immediately got up, preparing to fight. Anybody could tell that they were well-trained soldiers.

_Concussive round, incapacitation damage, most likely fired from a pistol using thermal clips._ His thoughts came automaticaly. His reliance on stealth tactics (though his tactics usually ended in a loud gunfight) had taught him to assess the type of the enemy purely based on gunshot. He unclipped his pistol and threw it at Kisa, winking at her. She caught the gun and flipped off the safety. She wasn't surprised that Jackson was carrying a gun, but she was somewhat amused when her cousin drew out a shotgun.

_I knew she always carried a gun, but a_shotgun_? Has she gone crazier?_

"Crazier" was the right word. Thea was crazy already.

…

Thea was impressed at Jackson's readiness and the cool manner he responded. She wondered why the hell anybody would fire a gun in Overlook. Whoever they were, they chose the wrong night. She raised her eyebrow (an idiom she picked up from her past, human boyfriend) when she noticed that Jackson didn't produce a second gun. Instead, his whole body started to glow blue. Electric blue.

"Liam Jackson! Come out now! We are Eclipse! We have the whole restaurant surrounded! Surrender peacefully!" The deep, male voice outside boomed his demands. He sounded like a batarian. _Poor bastard._ Thea thought.

Thea turned her head to Jackson, her eyes still on the door. "Why the hell does Eclipse want you? How do they know that you are here?"

Jackson smirked. "They are probably annoyed that I took their frigate, but I don't know how they managed to trace me. Change to non-lethal rounds. We don't want blood here." He approached the doorway, arms raised towards it, and indicated the two asaris to take cover on either side.

"Alright. We can always talk later." Kisa said.

…

The door exploded. The two soldiers that were approaching the doorway was caught in the blast and were immediately knocked out. The others behind them fired blindly into the smoke. The batarian captain was sure that he already won.

His dreams were demolished along with his vision. A shockwave blasted out from the doorway, knocking almost everyone to the ground and destroying their kinetic barriers. Even those who were behind cover felt as if somebody had punched them. A quick, accurate bursts of gunfire from the doorway took out the reeling soldiers.

Jackson scanned the scene, right to left. There were twelve soldiers in total, six asari, five human and one batarian. They had taken up a position designed to maximise firepower. Unfortunately, that exposed most of them to his biotics.

Four of them were trying to get up. Jackson slammed every one of them with biotic powers, knocking them out completely.

There were too little. Far too little, considering the fact that they knew who they were dealing with.

_Really? You need more than that to take me down._

…

"That was quick." Thea commented as she checked the soldiers for response. They were all cleanly knocked out. She was quite impressed, and almost surprised at Jackson's biotic prowess. Kisa was also surprised, but immediately linked his powers to his eezo bottle. She was sure that Jackson's powers came from him drinking eezo.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Is there any place to go to hide out?" Jackson asked as he picked up the batarian's assault rifle. He had already holstered a pistol from an asari, as well as five thermal clips. He always had a 'thing' towards asaris in general. They were quite attractive. But he had learned to not to pity his enemies.

"Perhaps in the Silverwoods, not far from here. Unless they send out a large search party, we should be able to blend in." Kisa answered. She also picked up a pistol and few thermal clips. She tried to give Jackson's pistol back, but he simply smiled and shook his head.

"Keep it. It's much better than the pistols that these guys have."

As they ran out of the restaurant, where most people were cowering down in fear, a gunship roared overhead. Its missile pods clicked into place, ready to fire.


	5. What happened that night

_The Catalyst was intrigued. It had been a number of cycles since an organic managed to enter the Network. 162 453 sol years, to be exact. In its eons of destruction, the Catalyst recorded one hundred and two incidents when an organic had entered the Network, but most of them were killed before they could do anything further. Thirteen of them were captured and was subsequently transcended. Only one managed to survive._

_This was the second human which had piqued his interest. Although it wanted to transcend the being, the human proved to be too much of a trouble. So it killed the first one by ordering its slaves. This cycle's organics called them "Collectors". Now, the Catalyst had another human to observe. This one was to be more game than the previous one – this human was silent._

…

The Eclipse's plan was almost perfect. A small bait using non-lethal rounds was sent to draw out Jackson and his guests. Two strike teams were placed on the either end of the road to keep the officials occupied as well as to scare away bystanders. A MANTIS gunship, along with a full-scale strike team was deployed to capture Jackson. Ideally, they will capture him alive to find out where their frigate was kept hidden, but killing Jackson will be sweet revenge. Finally, a smaller, cloaked agents were to take his guests hostage. They knew that Jackson wouldn't risk their lives and surrender.

The only flaw with the plan was that it underestimated the prey.

Sometimes, the "prey" becomes the "predator".

…

Jackson, Thea and Kisa jumped into cover, behind the empty skybus and away from the advancing strike team. Lucky for them, the strike teams didn't have time to take up proper assault positions. Jackson took out those who were too close by trapping them in a Singularity field.

The gunship roared overhead, but it moved very slowly due to the tight space between the buildings. A heavy machine gunner started to open fire on their position. Jackson couldn't identify the gun, though sounded like a 600RPM portable machine gun.

Kisa tried to see the gunship through the window of the skybus, but it was too dark to see through. She could not use her powers if she couldn't see her target. A number of mercs were already manoeuvring to flank their position. Kisa took a shot at them, but they were too far to be hit accurately.

Thea was grinning as if she was watching a Saturday night gag show.

"What's so funny?" Jackson asked, yelling above the chaos. He was desperately attempting to calibrate his gun sight, sorely missing the automatic compensator on his marksmen rifle.

"I was thinking that I would either get Kisa to hook up or shoot someone tonight. It seems like I get to do both!" Thea said as she launched a wave of biotic powers at the flanking mercs. Although it didn't hurt any of them, it certainly slowed their progress. Kisa laughed happily at her cousin's comment.

"I wouldn't exactly call this a date!" Jackson yelled, although he did found the comment amusing. It felt good to talk while fighting.

It felt good to be _alive_.

He sensed that the enemies were closing in fast. "Okay, we need to move. Silverwood, did you say?"

"There is a bar near called _Madness Tonight_; all sorts of people go there!" Kisa replied. "We split up-" she ducked as a missile exploded nearby. It was thankfully aimed poorly, and none of them were even scratched. "-and we meet there at 20:00. Okay?"

"The gunship's too close now!" Thea's voice, even as she was yelling, was drowned out by the roar of the engines.

"Move on my mark." Jackson barked. "Three, two, one. MARK!"

They separated as if it was a part of their combat training. In truth, they were seeking for positions where they would be tactically superior. Thea ran to the right, continuing to utilize the cars parked in the parking lot and knocking down enemies with her shotgun. Kisa ran to the left, entering the surprisingly-empty shopping mall. She had heard a lot of things about this mall – it was just as famous as Overlook – and found it strange to be running through it with nobody around. She fired a short burst at her pursuers before continuing.

Jackson did not run, and merely holstered his semi-calibrated rifle. He was satisfied that most of the mercenaries stayed behind to fight him. Those that went after the Sorceress Group wouldn't live to regret their decision. He breathed deeply. His whole body was glowing; this time in deep, solar red. The MANTIS roared right above him, its machine guns pointed directly at him. In one fluid motion, he jumped up, utilising his biotics to reach the bottom hull of the ship. The Eclipse soldiers looked up in surprise, but were unable to fire lest it hit the passengers within the gunship.

Standing upside down on the bottom of the MANTIS, Jackson launched a salvo of destruction. Mounting one attack after another, the street exploded into a colourful display of biotic explosions. A majority of the enemy hadn't expected to be attacked from above – they were decimated within mere seconds. The gunship itself shuddered as he launched another Nova. It was completely hapless, and the pilot was contemplating on abandoning the ship. Fortunately for him, Jackson ripped out the left engine (he had already destroyed its missile pod and the machine guns), making it spin out of control. He started the emergency impact sequence, cocooning himself within the cockpit.

Jackson jumped down onto the battlefield as the MANTIS slowly lost altitude. The gunship's VI was doing its best to keep it from colliding into a building, but there was only so much it could do with only its auxiliary systems. He hesitated briefly before he grabbed the whole gunship with his biotics, lowering it gently onto the ground. The ship continued to sputter, which Jackson also had to compensate for.

Although he stood without cover, no-one dared to take a shot at him. Most of them were in incapacitated, and the rest were shocked at Jackson's raw power.

"What are you doing? Fire! FIRE!" The Eclipse captain barked. She herself got out of cover and took aim at Jackson with her Mantis rifle. Still, no gunshots.

_I'm going to kill every one of these cowards._ She thought as she pulled the trigger. She felt a surge of satisfaction as her bullet hit his left leg. As she reloaded her rifle, a sudden force lifted her into the air. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the cold, metal floor.

She would later wake up in prison.

…

Kisa sat on the outer table of the bar, checking her surrounding while simultaneously being annoyed by the bullet grazes around her body. After escaping the initial battlefield, she faced four or five cloaked assailants. They were obviously Eclipse, and were armed lightly. They attempted to take her hostage, and didn't foresee any resistance. She took them out with ease – after all, this was her job for more than a hundred years.

She was hit four times, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a bit of Medi-Gel. After entering the main road, she holstered Jackson's gun and followed the scared crowd. Most of them dispersed near Silverwood, a large boulevard which was always packed. Her omni-tool indicated 19:53, meaning that she was at least ten minutes early.

Although she knew that sitting outside was risky, she wasn't in the mood to flirt with people inside bar.

On her table was a large pizza. The human food was massively popular amongst the species in the galaxy, becoming an instant hit immediately after the humans joined Citadel. Kisa and Thea would have it often during their missions – it was quick and tasty, and easy to pack as well. Now, having missed her fancy dinner and being considerably hungry, she heartily ate three slices, supressing her worries for her companions… and the worries from Jackson's story.

She immediately understood why he invited both herself and her cousin to a dinner – they were good candidates for such a dutiful mission. Capable and experienced, their actions were always based on moral righteousness. They also had the necessary network for Jackson to find allies.

As she reached for her fourth slice, Thea walked around the corner. Her dress bore bullet marks, and her face wore "don't piss me off" expression, but she smiled cheerfully at Kisa. Her energy was limitless.

"Hey! You're quick. Is that pizza?" Thea asked as she quickly approached her table. The gatekeeper of the bar wasn't sure if he should allow her in (she looked as if she had walked through hell), but his instincts told him to keep his mouth shut if he wanted to see the dawn again.

"Hi! It's good to see you!" Kisa replied. She signalled the servant nearby to give them another pizza. She winced briefly when the servant opened the door of the bar – the loud music hit her hard, giving her a headache.

Thea plonked herself down onto the empty chair in front of her. As she did, her shotgun hit the chair, giving out a loud clang. Thankfully, nobody noticed the difference between this particular clang and the one coming from the bar. She glanced at her omni-tool again for the fifth time this minute. The time seemed to be dragging more slowly by the second; it was still 19:53.

"Did any idiots try to mug you?" Thea asked, her mouth half full with pizza.

"A few. All of them should be in hospital by now."

"I see that you are actively creating more work for yourself." Thea mused. Suddenly, her expression immediately tensed. She gulped down the food.

"Kiss me." Thea said.

"What?"

"Do it, now!"

"Why? You-" Kisa couldn't finish her sentence as Thea kissed her passionately. Kisa was absolutely shocked and forgot to punch her. As their lips parted, Thea hissed into her ear-

"There's an Eclipse soldier walking towards us. Act like we're on a date!"

"Why a date? Why not-"

"Because most people can't stand two lovers kissing each other, that's why. Now shut up!" Thea kissed her again. Kisa was very, very annoyed but decided that her reasoning was correct. Through the corner of her eyes, she observed the Eclipse soldier, which she vowed to have him pay for this.

The soldier wasn't dressed in his full combat uniform, although he was well-armed and was wearing a helmet. He was limping quite badly, unable to use his left leg. He approached them in a very deliberate manner until he was right next to their table. He stopped.

"I didn't know you two had a thing going." Jackson said.

The two asaris immediately parted, their eyes wide in surprise. Jackson merely walked on, acting as if nothing had happened. He turned the corner, still limping badly.


	6. Injuries

**Temporary Infiltration – Personnel Recon**

**Walking around in the enemy's uniform is risky, especially if you are injured or unable to fight. Therefore, before infiltrating the enemy base, make sure to observe their behaviour before trying to become one of them in order to mimic their actions. Remember, a helmet doesn't make you completely unrecognisable!**

…

Jackson's left leg hurt badly, and the Eclipse armour that he stole was a size too small, forcing him to take shallow breaths. He had a nagging migraine, mostly due to lack of oxygen and loss of blood. He thought he was hallucinating when he saw Soracs kiss, but he quickly realised their cleverness behind their moves: they were trying to hide within the crowd.

_Or I hope that is what's happening…_Jackson smirked.

He felt drained after the fight, and his hands constantly went to his abdomen, grabbing an imaginary bottle. He was surprised at his lack of power – he should have been able to fight longer and harder, but he felt as if channels within his body were blocked. Jackson vaguely remembered Kisa saying something about cybernetics when the doctors put him back together, and he guess that was the problem.

The guns that he was lugging were a dead weight, but they did come into good use when a second Eclipse team tried to attack him (his biotics had ran out by then). The stupid assault rifle still wasn't calibrated though.

Jackson wanted to get off the road fast. He wasn't sure how much longer he would last while his legs bled out. He spotted a narrow, dark street with a hidden clearing further in. It looked relatively clean – perhaps it was a gathering place for a street gang. He couldn't care less. He let the two asaris know of his presence, and turned into the narrow street.

…

Kisa gasped; Jackson's injury was worse than she thought. Having no medi-gel, Jackson had attempted to supress the blood flow with some clothing and tightly-fitting leg armour, but that wasn't enough. The unusually large bullet had hit the bone and was lodged in place, causing continuing damage and pain. It wasn't the worst injury she's seen (she had, in fact, almost lost her arm once), but Jackson's casualness made her think that the injury wasn't serious.

_This could actually kill him._She thought, as she tried to secure his leg more firmly.

…

Thea and Jackson were munching away at the pizza. Thea was continually amazed at the man in front of him. Even though he was clearly in a lot of pain, his face showed no signs of it. In fact, he was grinning and engaging in small talk.

"So you had a quarian…?" Jackson urged, trying to keep his mind off his injury.

"Hmm? Oh. Girlfriend, yes. Before they were kicked off Rannoch." Thea replied. She understood his need to think of something other than his leg, so she continued. "I guess it's weird to humans when we asari say 'girlfriend'."

"Well, even though I understand, it still feels like lesbianism. Not that I have any problems with lesbians." Jackson bit into his slice. "So how do they look like under the mask?"

"Kinda similar to humans, actually." She noticed that Jackson eyeing Kisa again. She grinned – she approved Jackson as her cousin's very first boyfriend. "She hasn't had anybody yet." Thea mouthed when he turned his attention back to her. Jackson nodded, expressionless.

…

Finally, the blood stopped flowing. Jackson's leg was one, bloody mess wrapped with every bit of clothing that Jackson had looted. His fancy overcoat was also chucked in, as well as large bits of his pants.

"Well done! You've passed a field test! Now you can be our combat medic!" Jackson remarked. "Although it would have been nice if you could've saved a bit of clothing, too."

Kisa smiled at his lighthearted joke and stood up, unsure of what to do with her bloody hands. Red blood wasn't unusual for her, although she still found it interesting. Jackson offered his shirt, which was also torn to make some bandages. He now only wore his undershirt and now-converted-into-shorts, all stained with blood. Kisa wiped her hands gratefully.

"Where do we go now?" Kisa asked. "There aren't many places that a bloody, well-armed trio can enter without being questioned…" Jackson and Thea both stared at her, amused.

"You tell me, _Doctor_." Thea handed her the leftover pizzas.

…

Kisa closed the door and sighed. Everything was finally under control.

It was difficult to convince the hospital staff to let them in, since Jackson was currently on the Wanted list. Chief Police Officer Casmo had arrested almost 70 Eclipse mercenaries, but she wanted to make sure that no more public threats existed. So she put out an arrest warrant for two unknown asaris and one human who called himself Mr Wolf. They even managed to create some holos based on eyewitnesses: one of them was very similar to Jackson, with the three barely-noticeable facial scars.

The hospital staff immediately recognised him, and determined that Kisa and Thea were the "unknown asaris". However, most of them remembered Thea, who visited sometimes, as well as Jackson's kind nature. Minutes later, Jackson was being rushed to the emergency room.

Jackson mumbled something about 'karma', and asked all synthetics within his body to be taken out. Before they could ask him why, he passed out due to blood loss. The doctors argued briefly whether they should follow his request, and decided to remove the robotics. There weren't many anyway, and Jackson's stunning resilience to death gave doctors no other choice.

After about an hour's operation, Jackson returned to his old room, his belongings from the hotels having been taken out by Thea (she "borrowed" Jackson's identity card and returned it rather reluctantly). Everything was going to be fine, at least for now.

…

The young human opened his eyes. He scanned the room he was in. It was a small room, with graceful curves arcing down from the ceiling, lit softly in a hue of blue. It had a distinctive sting in the air; the smell of antibiotics. A small table was near the door, with his black armour and weapons arranged in a neat pile.

An Eclipse armour and few more weapons was placed next to the table, on the ground. Jackson felt a strange sense of déjà vu, although this time, his mind wasn't fogged up with painkillers. He wriggled his left leg, and was glad to find that it had healed. There were several areas around his body which throbbed with his heartbeat; the remnants of his cybernetics-removal operation.

He glanced left, realising that there was another bedside table. On top of the table were two bottles. One was a regular water bottle and the other was his eezo bottle. A sticky note was attached to the bottles:

"Thirsty?"

Jackson chuckled and drank from both bottles. He activated his omni-tool: June 9th. Exactly a week ago, he was in almost the same position. He sighed and flexed his whole body, gloriously free of life-support modules. He traced his memory through what happened in the past week, and remembered that his talk with the Soracs had not yet finished. He built a quick to-do list:

_Firstly, get out of this hospital and finish the story. Secondly, get off this planet and contact the Shadow Broker. Thirdly, start recruiting…_

He paused. He still wasn't sure if he should go ahead with this. The mission was… impossible. Alone, he had no chance, but with a team, he had a shot at stopping the monsters. But he would probably loose everyone again.

He wasn't sure if his psychology would hold up if he experienced another lone survival.

_No. I'll probably break down. But I am the only one who knows what's beyond Beta-Two. The fate of the galaxy rests on my shoulders, God damn it. The duty is beyond my life._

As he fought his dark fears, Kisa entered the room. She was now back on duty, although the hospital decided that she could no longer work here. Bringing an injured criminal secretly into the hospital was unacceptable, and they were afraid that Kisa's history might come back to haunt them. Kisa didn't care – she would have quit anyway, now that Jackson wanted to hire her. She smiled broadly when she saw that Jackson was awake.

"Good morning Jackson." She said. She got out her medical scanner on her omni-tool.

"Hi…" Jackson returned the smile, although his eyes didn't meet hers. Something was troubling him again, like that night on the balcony.

"You okay? Your leg seems fine and the doctors got rid of all the cybernetics, as you asked." She finished scanning Jackson, and was satisfied that he was healthy. Again, his body had healed at a remarkable rate.

"I'm fine." Jackson looked at her. She stared back. They stood watching each other for some time. It was a quiet, peaceful moment.

Jackson suddenly closed his eyes and looked away from her. After a brief moment, he shook his head and whispered; "I'm sorry."

Kisa was hurt. Although she knew exactly what he meant, she refused to believe it. She wasn't sure what to make of her emotion... sadness, anger, confusion all mixed into a haze. She was surprised at herself, for the strong emotions that was far too weird. Without a reply, she left the room. She needed some time to sort herself out.

Jackson looked up at the ceiling, his eyes watering. He did like Kisa. He knew very well that he had developed strong feelings for her from the start. Like the clichéd romance stories, it was love at first sight, and he knew it. But she might die in the mission, and he wanted to protect her. He couldn't let her follow him to their deaths.

He also felt guilt over his dead teammates. He was the only one alive… and he couldn't enjoy his life. That was betrayal. He also felt guilt for Catherine. Finding someone else to love was betraying her memory. He couldn't do that. Finally, he remembered his duties, and how attachment will ruin it. After all, he was the Lone Wolf – he worked best alone.

_No… Not this lifetime._ A single drop of tear landed on his fist. _The duty is beyond my life._


	7. Seeing Isn't Believing

DISCLAIMER: THE SONG FEATURED HERE IS "DEMONS" BY IMAGINE DRAGONS. I DO NOT OWN THE RIGHT TO THE LYRICS OF THE SONG. ITS IS BEING USED WITHOUT A FORMAL LISCENCE.

Thea sat uncomfortably in her chair. Even her usual "I don't care about others" attitude didn't prevent her from noticing the tension in the air. Both Jackson and Kisa had left the hospital that morning, carrying bags full of belongings. The trio had went to Kisa's apartment to finish Jackson's story as well as to pack all of Kisa's belongings to leave Nevos.

Jackson told the asaris that he knows of a device which can stop the Reapers behind Beta-Two, and needed a team of scientists to work on it. He didn't say exactly what the device was, although he did mention something about eezo. Once the device is completed (Jackson had made it clear that he will find **_somebody_** to work on it), Jackson would need a very capable strike team to deliver and activate the device – beyond Beta-Two.

"That's why I need you two." Jackson said. "This mission is hazy, suicidal and has no pay whatsoever. You will be kept in the dark until the moment we pass through Beta-Two. I can't even tell you exactly what your jobs will be when we go to deploy the device. But it needs to be done and…"

"You need those with a strong moral compass and is also slightly crazy" Thea finished it for him. Jackson nodded in agreement.

"Alright. I'm in." She glanced nervously at her cousin, who was yet to speak a word. She had been unusually quiet and avoided eye contact. She was listening, for sure, but how much she took in was debatable. Thea moved her attention back to at Jackson, who had avoided making any interactions with Kisa. He looked tired, and a she could see traces of sadness carefully masked by his seriousness. Jackson was certainly good at hiding his feelings.

Having being with countless partners of numerous species (although she is yet to conceive a child), Thea was a self-proclaimed love expert. Drawing from her extensive personal experience, she came to her conclusion:

_Jackson rejected Kisa, but he still has feelings towards her. Perhaps something is holding him back… Hmmm. Star-crossed lovers? This is going to be bad, and this conversation is certainly not constructive. This can't continue, especially in the battlefield! What should I do?_

Thea glanced at her omni-tool. "Um, I forgot to meet somebody. Sorry Jackson, but I have to go. Will be back in thirty minutes." _And do something while I'm gone, idiot!_

"Right. Are you sure you'll do this? It's a suicide mission and you shouldn't take it so lightly." Jackson replied with a worried expression. He was somewhat surprised at Thea's light-hearted reply.

"Look, you'll find nobody else who is more qualified and fitting. And if I don't agree, then you'll have to kill me because I know too much, right?" Jackson didn't respond, but she knew she was right. "So I may as well. I might be able to save the whole world this time, instead of taking down some bad guys."

With that, Thea left the room in a hurry, hoping that the problem would be solved. For the first time in her love-advising career, she didn't know what to do.

…

Kisa felt every beat of her heart. She instinctively knew that Thea was lying; there was nobody she had an appointment with. Thea's message was clear "talk to him!"

She didn't know what to say. Love was something new for her. She had determinedly avoided that feeling throughout her life, until she met Jackson. It was almost like those badly-written romance stories: love at first sight.

She was sure that Jackson was also developing feelings for her, too. Even though he continuously hid his emotions, Kisa could see right through him. Four hundred years of life gave you significant advantages when reading someone else's feelings. Her cousin's countless love tips also helped.

_You never asked. And he never rejected. All he said was "sorry". That's all that he said._ A voice inside Kisa's head argued. She wanted to believe it. She desperately wanted to believe it.

The silence was deafening. For a few minutes, the human and the asari sat on the opposite sides of the sofa in the small apartment, neither liking their situation. The only sound came from their slow and steady breaths. Suddenly, Jackson started to sing. His voice was somewhat hoarse, but deep and almost dramatic.

_When the days are cold_

_And the cards all fold_

_And the Saints we see_

_Are all made of gold_

Kisa looked at him in surprise. Why was he singing all of a sudden? She then saw his face. His eyes were closed and his mask was gone. He was trying to say something, but clearly didn't know how to say it. He expression was true and uncut – determination. He had come to some sort of conclusion.

_When your dreams all fail_

_And the ones we hail_

_Are the worst of all_

_And the blood's run still_

_I wanna hide the truth_

_I wanna shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There's nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

Kisa realised what he was saying. She felt relieved, somewhat angry and scared. _Demons_…

Jackson's voice rose slightly, and he continued to sing.

_At the curtain's call_

_It's the last of all_

_When the lights fade out_

_All the sinners crawl_

_So they dug your grave_

_And the masquerade_

_Will come calling out_

_At the mess you made_

_Don't wanna let you down_

_But I am, hell bound_

_Though this is all for you_

_Don't wanna hide the truth_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_Don't get too close_

_It's dark inside_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

Kisa was crying out of relief. Jackson did love her… but he was just afraid to do so. She moved closer to Jackson, who opened his eyes and looked directly at her. He continued to sing, loud and clear. He was a very good singer.

_They say it's what you make_

_I say it's up to fate_

_It's woven in my soul_

_I need to let you go_

_Your eyes, they shine so bright_

_I wanna save that light_

_I can't escape this now_

_Unless you show me how!_

_When you feel my heat!_

_Look into my eyes!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_Don't get too close!_

_It's dark inside!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

_It's where my demons hide!_

They sat very close now, and the silence enveloped them. Jackson reached up and wiped her tears.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes."

Jackson smiled wearily. _At least she won't be in pain now._

…

"Sir? You might want to take a look at this."

"What is it?"

"An Alliance military man was found alone in a damaged gunship – M44 Hammerhead with the Alliance designation. He was admitted into hospital on Nevos and received significant medical attention."

"And…?"

"It was covered up, fearing the tourist's panic. However, a couple of days later, a gunfight broke out near one of its restaurants, initiated by Eclipse mercenaries. About 70 participants were captured, all of them having been hit with concussive rounds. They reported being attacked by a man with significant biotic abilities. An arrest warrant was sent out across Nevos on this man, who was calling himself Mr Wolf. But he looks very much like…"

He brought up a holo.

"Lone Wolf? Liam Jackson? How…? You're right, concussive rounds and biotic abilities certainly sounds like Liam, and that holo definitely shows him, though he seems to have gained more cuts on his face. Nice catch, Specialist. Hmm… activate the transponder on his armour. If it's on Nevos, then… let's just wait and see what he is doing. Also, send an agent to Nevos. Shadow him."

"Sir!"

_Why hasn't he reported in? How come he managed to arrive so quickly? What is he doing?_ The man asked himself. He wore a standard Systems Alliance officer's uniform, although he had an Admiral's badge on his chest. He looked quietly out of his window, watching the Citadel sky. He had always wondered how a fake sky soothed him, but there were many things he didn't understand.

_The Nightly Wind,_ one of the three ships that went with Jackson, arrived merely a day ago. The crew reported that there was a relay named Beta-Two at the coordinates indicated in the Prothean video. They had also said that Jackson's ship, SSV _Jungfrau_ had entered the relay. The third ship, SSV _Carnivore,_was on its way home.

_The Nightly Wind_ was a ship that Jackson had hijacked from Eclipse especially for this mission, and was the fastest ship that the Admiral had ever seen. It was now going through extensive retrofitting to upgrade its weapons and armour, as well as stealth technology gained from the legendary SSV _Normandy_. _The Nightly Wind_ also didn't match many of the standard Alliance regulations, so that had to be taken care of as well.

He wondered what happened to SSV _Jungfrau_, the battle-cruiser. It was probably destroyed, most likely with all of its crew, save for Jackson himself. He knew that Jackson was a natural leader; one who would not abandon his ship. If anything, he would have done everything he could to die with the ship. He sincerely hoped that Jackson wasn't alone – if he had to endure another lone survival…

The Admiral shook his head. He utterly believed in Jackson's abilities, and more importantly Jackson as a person. However, he wasn't sure how anybody would hold up after everything that he had gone through. His experiment-based birth, his childhood, semi-forced enlistment at the age of twelve, death of his fiancée during operations on Torfan, losing all of his team during an eezo terrorism attack, yet another lone-surival during Eden Prime War… His combat history was colourful, but his psych profile was dotted with red warnings.

His failures and the deaths of his team were never his fault, but he had always blamed it on himself. During the three years that he was in HIGHCOM, he completely refused to work in a fireteam, except for Operation Unveiling, where they found Beta-Two…

_I pray that you are well, Liam._The man thought.


	8. Encounters

Jackson squirmed uncomfortably, wriggling his three-fingered hands together. His index finger hurt somewhat – five fingers were never meant to fit into these gloves. His legs screamed at him for the lack of blood flow. He checked his clutches and breathed deeply through the filters. All he could smell was his skin.

He looked across at Thea and Kisa, who were sleeping soundly, their countless bags serving as a bed. His own bag, which was very large, clang loudly every time he poked at it. He never knew that his armour was this noisy. He tried to stretch his body, but was stopped by the unyielding fabric of the enviro-suit.

Jackson traced his memory, trying to remember how he managed to get to this miserable position.

…

After he had told Kisa exactly how he felt, she gave him her confirmation – she will join his mission. She seemed somewhat annoyed, since she was now well into her matron age; Jackson was sure that she was planning to live on Nevos for a very long time. They finished packing her belongings and left for Thea's hotel.

Thea had actually meet somebody while she was gone: a smuggler. Thea claimed that they will travel to Omega, the main reason being that her residence was there.

Omega was a risky choice, but Jackson didn't complain – the crime heaven of the galaxy also held quite a few gifted and forward-thinking individuals. The Sorceress Group's connections would help him to sort out exactly who he needed. Also, the device that Jackson would need beyond Beta-Two was highly illegal – Omega was the perfect place for such things.  
>The biggest problem right now was to get to Omega in the first place – Jackson's WANTED status prevented him from leaving the planet in the regular way. That's where the smuggler came in. The human female, who called herself <em>Black Paint<em>, suggested that he take a Quarian identity, since nobody would try to check his face.

"A Quarian?" Jackson moaned.

"What's wrong with Quarians?" Thea snapped. She was angry at all those who looked down at Quarians, and her past friendships made that a particularly sensitive point. "They have similar body as you humans do, and Black Paint is correct about nobody wanting to remove the mask."

"I've got no problems with Quarians. But _being_ one is going to be difficult. How about the legs? What is my cover story? Quarians don't go to Omega for the sake of it, you know…" Jackson complained. He was slightly surprised – he was _complaining_ perhaps for the first time in his life. Something had changed inside him.

"We can wrap bandages around your legs – say that it's broken. I have a full enviro-suit, and even a clean-slate identity!" Black Paint said. She was doing a very good business here.

"And nobody is going to ask questions if you are heading to Omega." Kisa added. She continuously wondered about Jackson's song, and what it meant for him. She had searched the extranet, which claimed that the song was an old human pop song. Most people had forgotten it already, yet Jackson sang the century-old song completely by memory.

"I'm still not sure…" Jackson said.

Half an hour later, he was wearing the Quarians' suit. It was too small for him, forcing him to hunch over. With his mask on, he looked through the mirror – he did look like an injured Quarian. The helmet's food sterilisers were replaced with a voice mixer, turning his voiced into a high-pitched voice of a Quarian on the Pilgrimage. Jackson had to admit - it was a perfect disguise.

…

Jackson eyed the Turian and the Krogan, who were approaching them from the other side of the Transit Bus. The bus was a rather big ship which made regular, legal trips to Omega. Holding almost 500 passengers, each "cabin" held about twenty. Their cabin was relatively empty (a work of Black Paint, who received a generous sum of money), save for about five other passengers. The Turian and the Krogan were the two which eyed them carefully – carrying lots of bags, looking very tired and having an injured Quarian as a friend, the trio looked like an easy prey. Jackson was expecting trouble.

"What are you doing here, _Quarian_?" The Krogan said, having crossed the whole length of the cabin. Both Kisa and Thea woke up almost instantly.

"Wh… wh… why?" Jackson stammered in high-pitched voice. He had decided to hide his personality as well, and acting scared seemed to fit the situation.

"Looking for a planet to live on?" The Turian said. "Wait, you don't have one! Ha!"

Jackson felt his biotics charging, but forced himself to relax. Quarians weren't biotic, and he didn't want to fight.

_I can't believe how rude everyone is to Quarians_. Jackson thought. Such jokes were already made against him during his short life inside the suit, and he got angrier every time that happened.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Thea said, shoving the Turian back. Bad mistake.

"What do you have to do with this, hu? Nobody cares if I remove that Quarian's helmet and watch it scream!" The Turian growled menacingly. The Krogan's muscles tensed. The situation was rapidly becoming volatile.

_Crap… If they see my face, I have to kill them._ Jackson thought. He reached for his clutches, planning to use it as a weapon. He wasn't sure how to deal with a Krogan without his biotics, but he was sure that the clutches weren't going to do anything. Still, it felt good to hold onto something.

"Trying to run away? Let us see your face first!" The Krogan roared, swinging his fist at him. With incredible speed, Jackson dodged it, but fell off his seat with a thud.

Both Kisa and Thea charged their biotics, but before they could launch an attack, another Turian quickly rose from his seat and attacked the Krogan. This greyish Turian had barely any facial markings, save for a fiery white marks near the back of his head. He was tall and well built, even for a Turian. His was dressed rather well, and definitely didn't look like someone who lived on Omega. His eyes were electric blue… or was it because of his biotics?

He smashed the Krogan in the stomach with his biotically-charged fist, then proceeded to attack the key joins around the Krogan. Although the monster fought fiercely, it was inexperienced and clumsy compared to the fighter in front of him. After a brief fisticuff, the Turian knocked out the screaming monster by hitting it repeatedly. When the Krogan's secondary systems started to kick in, the Turian took Jackson's clutches from his grasp and smashed it against the Krogan's head, knocking it out again.

Everyone in the cabin watched in awe. When he turned to the other assailant, the other Turian fled the room in terror. Even Jackson was impressed – his speed and accuracy was very commendable, and his ability to take down a Krogan without a weapon (clutches didn't count) was impressive. He turned to Jackson.

"Sorry that I broke your clutches. Are you alright?"

Jackson nodded, fully appreciating his help.

"Thanks. Wow… you took down a Krogan!" Jackson replied. Kisa had rushed to his aid, and was helping him to stand up. Thea stood at a slight distance, eyeing the Turian suspiciously.

"Yes, well…" The Turian didn't continue.

"Do you mind if I ask your name?" Thea said.

"Nekros. Nekros Agius." The Turian replied. He joined Kisa in helping Jackson, who acted as if he had re-opened his wound.

"Damn… Not a rupture, thank god, but the left leg hurts again. Do you have anything for the pain?" Jackson asked, continuing to be surprised at his own high-pitched voice. He then realised what he had said – "_thank god"_. That was a human expression, not Quarian. Luckily, the Turian didn't seem to notice.

"I'll get some painkillers. It's here somewhere…" Kisa got the cue – Jackson wanted to talk to this Turian.

"What's your name?" Nekros asked, naturally taking a seat beside Jackson. He had noticed Jackson's relatively tall stature as well as his quick reflexes against the Krogan.

"Bui nar Tapaan." Jackson lied. "Thank you so much for saving me again. I don't think I would have survived another fight."

Thea grunted. "Another fight? You never had one in the first place!"

"But that human! Wasn't he trying to mug me?" Jackson whined. He was somewhat enjoying this.

"He was performing, you idiot! Street performers are everywhere on Nevos!" Thea replied.

Nekros chuckled. He was amused at this unusual trio. "On your Pilgrimage, I assume?"

Both Jackson and Thea was surprised. Not many knew about the Pilgrimage, let alone care about it. Thea knew about it thanks to her girlfriend, and Jackson knew about it because learning alien culture was a part of his training. But how this Turian learned about the Pilgrimage was a mystery to both.

"How... how did you know? … Yes. I was visiting Nevos to take some photos. You know, those really ancient two dimensional photos that works on chemicals instead of omni-tools. I found an old human camera on Omega and managed to get it. But I wanted to do something with it, you know? Capture a secret, perhaps. Do you want to have a look?" Jackson suggested, hoping that he would buy it.

"Two dimensional photos on paper? That's new! Or old, I should say. Yes, I am interested." Nekros realised immediately that Jackson was more than what he claimed to be.

"That would be nice, actually. I wouldn't mind more company." Kisa returned with a syringe, filled with coloured water. She placed it over the suit, which it accepted automatically, injecting the fluid into Jackson's legs.

"Uh-huh, there is no way I am allowing another alien into my house." Thea teased. She decided to let her suspicions pass for now.

"Come on, Thea! You know I get awfully lonely on Omega!" Kisa replied, taking the syringe back out. "And besides, Bui's camera is a curious thing to look at."

Jackson stared at Kisa, as if in shock.

"It's okay Bui! I won't take it from you!" Kisa laughed. Soon, Thea and Jackson joined in.

_A curious bunch! I'm not sure how true their words are, but they certainly seem interested in talking to me. Hmmm… I doubt slavers will try to capture me, after what they've seen. Perhaps they are really just an unusual group after all. But... Oh well, I wouldn't mind company myself._ Nekros thought. He smiled and continued to chat with the three people.


	9. Thea's Apartment

_This Quarian knows how to move people._ Nekros thought. He was sitting comfortably on a sofa, talking casually with the two asari and the Quarian sitting in front of him. He had arrived a day too early for his work, so he was glad for the opportunity to kill some time. The darker blue asari (who introduced herself as Thea Sorac) owned an impressively large apartment in the richer districts of Omega, which had four bedrooms, two living rooms, four bathrooms (why she needed so many was a question too rude to ask) and a large kitchen. Furnished atypically yet in a usable fashion, it was filled with various items of memory (he wondered what it would be like to have a 400 year personal history). The whole house was somewhat untidy, and he could see that only the "guest" areas were hurriedly cleaned. The other asari (introduced herself as Kisana Sorac) apologised for the mess, saying that her cousin wasn't the sort of person who bothered to be clean. In fact, she was amazed that she managed to organise the guest area. Bui seemed amused and commented how similar this room looked like to a liveship within the Migrant Fleet.

Nekros introduced himself as a part of the Turian Spec Ops and a prospect Blackwatch member and told Bui, Thea and Kisa that he wanted to inspect the newest and the most illegal weapons on the market: Omega was the perfect place to do so. He mused on how much he hated the Hierarchy, having always been "the rebel who did it my way. Mind you, that usually turned out better than what the idiots with long horns ordered me to do." He was, at the start, restrained and formal, but soon loosened into talkative and light-hearted Turian eager to make friends. He also seemed equally eager to disobey orders.

Though his jokes, Jackson could see that this Turian had passion and ambition to achieve. He wasn't sure on his character nor his abilities, although Jackson did need to recruit a Turian.

_I need the best. Gathering different species together into a team of highly specialized killers is kinda impossible… But if I don't have the best, then we will all die._ Jackson wondered grimly as he flicked out the next photograph. It was a photo of a dark cave, light seeping in from behind the camera. Nothing was clearly defined, though one could make out a locked door hidden behind the folds of the cave wall. The cave itself was vast, dark and horrifically empty. Yet it filled the whole scene with its omniscient presence. Printed on a course sheet of paper, it gave out a sense of danger and demanded attention.

"This is what I have to go through every day." Jackson-in-Bui's-voice said, his voice quivering. "I want to avoid it, but I'm bound by it."

Nekros could sense despair in his voice, but also something else… What was it? "Was this the secret that you talked about?" The helmet nodded.

_By the goddess! _This_ is what he meant by "Demons"?_ Kisa thought. She was the only one who could understand Jackson's words. But even she couldn't understand what he truly meant.

…

Jackson stretched his body, finally free from the suit. He repeatedly curled his fist and wriggled his fingers, trying to get the middle finger and the pointer finger to separate (with not much success). His back muscles were having a spasm. His legs were screaming – this time for the sudden rush of blood.

_Note to self – being a Quarian is NOT a good disguise._ Jackson thought as he left the shower. He quickly dressed in the largest set of clothes he could find (he had done a bit of shopping before he left Nevos), packing away the enviro-suit. As much as he despised it, he would need it soon enough.

He looked curiously at his room, which was a lot brighter now compared to seeing it through the tinted helmet. A bed, one wardrobe, a locked footlocker (Thea: "I swear to goddess if you open this, I will KILL you … with a spoon" Jackson: "A spoon?" Thea: "Because that's the only item in that box that I can afford to ruin."), an unlocked footlocker for himself, a table and an en suite bathroom was more than what he could ask for in someone else's apartment. It was a comfortable place to snuggle in and plan for a suicidal mission.

He flopped on top of the bed, checking the Nekros's extranet address. He had promised to return and visit them before he left Omega.

_Time to contact the Shadow Broker. _He thought as he opened an encrypted connection.

…

Kisa felt at home (in fact, this was her home merely a year ago, though it used to be much more tidy), and immediately placed herself in her old bedroom. She was glad to see her home again, and she felt a swelling sense of adventure. As much as she hated to admit it, she still felt like a Maiden.

_I guess some people were never meant to grow up_. She thought with a smile.

Thea, who was practically the head of the house, marched off toward the shopping district to buy food and supplies to accommodate two more people. Having nothing much to do, Kisa rigged up a computer in Jackson's room, giving him a near-full access to the Sorceress Group's network as well as her hacking programs.

During their casual talk, Jackson surprised her with his knowledge in cryptography – though not as extensive as her own, he knew how to crack a military-grade channel with a blink of an eye. He was especially adapt in human encryption, even to a point where she learned new things from him.

"HIGHCOM." Jackson answered her quizzed look. "I may as well tell you. We received training on every aspect of the battlefield. That included hacking things. Military-grade security is as easy as peeling a banana." With a single flick of the wrist, Jackson sent Kisa a file – his own military report.

"That thing used to be covered in black ink. Not many people has seen the whole thing. You should have a read of it." Jackson said.

"You sure?" Kisa asked. As much as she wanted to read his files, Jackson's continuing secrecy had led her to believe that there was something dark lurking within his past.

"I'm sure. Firstly, I feel guilty for looking into your past. Secondly, we're in this together. I want you to trust me completely. A part of that is you knowing my past… at least enough to know where I come from."

"Right… But you know that I don't need to know your past to trust you." Kisa commented. Jackson smiled, his eyes betraying him once more. They seemed to say: "then you are too trusting".

…

Kisa got to her the bedroom and brought up the files. The first part was his illustrious military career; spanning for almost twenty years. For a human, that was a very long time. He had passed the N7 test as well as being offered a position of a Captain, but they were all turned down voluntarily. Jackson stubbornly remained as Sergeant. Kisa counted four events in his career where Jackson was a sole survivor. She was shocked… How could anybody hold up after being whipped into combat at the age of twelve and see all of his friends die _four_ times? He seemed so unaffected, yet this was what he was hiding under his mask. Her eyes watered in pity.

Then came his actions with HIGHCOM. After faking death and being reported MIA, he was taken into the Spec-Ops team under civilian status. Other members of HIGHCOM were also taken from a civilian status, too. Kisa noted that all of the HIGHCOM agents had notable amounts of training… they all passed N1 test, at least.

HIGHCOM missions were daring and gruelling… almost impossible even for a Spec-Ops team. She noted one interesting fact – all Jackson's missions had a yellow tag underlined in red.

That meant no teammates.

_This must be where his nickname comes from. _Kisa thought. _Lone Wolf…_

The files came to an abrupt stop with a mission named Operation Unveiling:

**May 1st: Permission Granted to launch Operation Unveiling. Encryption Key RED.**

**May 4th: L. Jackson reports in with a infiltration ship, _The Nightly Wind_.**

**May 5th: L. Jackson put in command with T. Cosby as second-in-command launches Operation Unveiling. Three ships, _The Nightly Wind, SSV Jungfrau and SSV Carnivore _is given permission.**

**May 27th: Regular pings to the ships is broken. Last transmission 13:29, giving green.**

**June 4th: _The Nightly Wind _returns without a ping, reporting a mass relay at the given location. _SSV Jungfrau_ has entered the relay under command of L. Jackson, while _SSV Carnivore _re-establishes ping connection.**

**June 11th (CURRENT STATUS): _SSV Jungfrau_ is declared MIA with all its crew. Operation Unveiling pending orders.**

_Oh Jackson… Why didn't you tell me earlier? If these are your demons, then … I can help! _Kisa thought. _Are these your demons? Or… is there something more?_

Kisa glanced at her omni-tool, activating her hacking systems. She wondered deeply for a long time before finally deciding to close it.

_That's all what Jackson wants me to know for now. I trust his decision._


	10. Recruitment

A salarian sat in a militaristic armour room, cleaning his weapons. Dressed in a smart, white uniform, he looked threatening despite his small size. His skin was oily green, with some traces of light yellow. He had yellow stripes running down his right arm, denoting a long-time service. The Omni-tool on his right arm beeped. He flinched – that meant that an important message arrived, most likely an order. As much as he was proud of his job, after the work with the Genophage, he wasn't so sure. Was he doing the right thing? Did the STG knew what was best for the galaxy? Nearing the end of his service time (in fact, he had packed most of belongings and sent them home), he really wasn't expecting another mission from command.

He placed the gun barrel back on the bench and opened the message.

_From: Mordin Solus_

_To: Lt. Coron Zenzin_

_Encryption: Type 5 Proxy_

_Greetings Zenzin! Good to be able to send a message. Was hoping to do so earlier. Caught up in work. Apologises. Currently in Omega, studying an interesting strain of virus. New, unusual and extremely complex. Has the possibility of becoming widespread and deadly. Humans seems unaffected. Must look into this._

_A Quarian met me this morning. In fact was a human in enviro-suit. Heat signatures and muscular tensions gave it away. Was asking for my assistance in genetic samples of various species. Also said was going on a mission. Need a scientist, look into a relic. Currently busy, can't help. Also not an expert on relics. Did provide gene samples._

_Said will find another one to take my spot. You are a good choice. Can you help? Will provide his extranet address. You leaving STG in two weeks, yes? Do it._

_Trust him? Not yet. Payment? Little. Duty? Apparently so. He seems to know quite a bit. Dangerous man, but also a leader. I approve._

_Hope to see you sometime. Perhaps you come to Omega. See you later. Mordin._

Coron always wondered why Dr Solus was so jumpy. All Salarians were quick, but Dr Solus seemed to be hyped up even more. Even in writing, Dr Solus's way of speech seeped through.

He wasn't sure whether to treat this message as a mission. Dr Solus left the STG – honourable discharge. Technically, the doctor was a civilian, but he still had extensive connection with the Special Tasks Group, and a request like this usually meant that it had to be done.

_That's an order._ Coron concluded. _For the best, I presume. What to do at home? Unthinkable. I think… would go crazy trying not to say anything. Working with a dangerous human? Dressed in enviro-suit? Interesting._

Coron looked the extranet address – LoneWolf247 – and started to write.

…

Nekros marvelled at the array of weaponry in front of him. They were all large, heavy and definitely lethal. They gave out an aura of danger. He remembered his own weapons locker. Even though he was the Heavy Weapons specialist of the team, his guns looked scrawny compared to these monsters. He especially admired the machine gun at the far corner of the room.

"Hopefully. You are looking at a modified human weapon. It was known as N7 Typhoon. It has been changed to fire larger rounds at a slower rate. Deadly in all situations." The Elcor shopkeeper said. Nekros, who had been holding in his breath, sighed. He was always annoyed when Elcors spoke – they were too slow. Way too slow.

"Is it legal?" Nekros asked.

"Proudly. Yes, but only if you set it to fire at a medium speed." The Elcor said. "It is 20 000 credits."

"Twenty thousand…! You've got to be joking!" Nekros shouted. "Are you crazy?"

"Angrily. No, I do not believe I am crazy. Please leave if don't have the money." The Elcor threatened.

"Damn it. Alright, I'll leave."

Having left the shop, he wasn't sure were to go. He recorded what he saw in a report and sent it to the Turian Hierarchy. They wanted a very detailed information on the weapons that the people of the Terminus systems had access to. He summed up in one sentence: "You better give us something better."

Nekros smirked – his superiors would be annoyed when they read his report.

_If you send me on a mission like this and expect me to not be pissed off, then you don't deserve to be my superior. I bet that they want to discharge me again. Too bad – I'm the best fighter that you've got. Heck, nobody's beaten my physique training time yet!_

Nekros suddenly felt depressed. He was a capable soldier, a powerful tool which an able leader could use with great effect. Yet not a single person he met, regardless of their rank, was capable of doing so. In the end, it was his decisions that saved lives and finished the mission.

_If I can just find a leader…_

He never thought that the Quarian would be that leader.

…

Jackson sipped at his tea (he called eezo tea, even when he was alone, since that made eezo sound less exotic) while reading at Nekros' file. He should have read it yesterday, but the chair was so comfortable. Sooo comfortable… He woke up after twelve hours of sleep, embarrassed that he allowed himself to doze off like that. He realised that he had let is guards down.

_Do I really trust the Soracs that much? You've only known them for two weeks! _He thought, and was shocked when another voice inside him replied: _They are a family you've never had, Jackson._

That was the second time that voice spoke in his entire life. The first time it did was when he was still with Catherine… or rather, when Catherine was still with him.

The meeting he had earlier with the Salarian; Mordin Solus went well, though it didn't go as smoothly as he had planned.

Firstly, that Salarian noticed his disguise.

He contemplated on killing him then and there, but the Mordin promised silence. The Doctor was also a valuable man, someone that the galaxy lacked. Jackson decided to spare his life.

Mordin gave him the gene samples of all intelligent species in the galaxy. Although Jackson highly doubted that they will work, it was good to at least have them as a backup. Who knew what the Prothean AI accepted as "sufficient material".

Dr Solus also gave told him that another Salarian may be able to help, and that he will get him to join Jackson's mission. He promised to join Jackson when he finished his work with this new virus, though Mordin suspected that it may take him a year to develop a cure. Jackson thanked him and left his laboratory.

…

Jackson shook his head with a small smile. Young, rebellious, capable yet thoughtful, Nekros was a Turian version of his teenage self… when Liam Jackson was a teenager. The only two things that was different was his age (Nekros was twenty-five) and the fact that his biotic powers wasn't as powerful as his.

_Well… Nobody has my biotics, not even that famous criminal: Jack._ Jackson thought. _But then again, my powers aren't technically biotic…_

This Turian's military report was despicable, having being charged twice with insubordination (though the trial's verdict on both situations was "Rationality and Duty seen within Situational Decision", a rare conclusion for any military in the galaxy). He was denied the position of leadership due to such actions. However, his comrades had praised his loyalty, forward thinking and his unchangeable moral standards. A perfect candidate for his mission.

_I'm lucky to have met three such fine people. Perhaps its destiny, I don't know._ Jackson wondered. He wasn't much of a spiritual person, though he thoroughly despised destiny. It's what killed Catherine. _And now I'm here thanking it. Damn it!_

Jackson thought as he threw a ball of blue at the door. He had been forming it absentmindedly, a habit he picked up during his time at HIGHCOM.

Kisa opened the door at that very instant, receiving the ball squarely in the face. It shattered into millions of pretty pieces, causing no damage but startling Kisa enough to knock her off balance.

"Whoa-!"

"Gotcha!" Jackson said, as he lifted her up with his biotics. The shattered fragments were also lifted, filling the room with colourful display of light. Suspended mid-air, Kisa felt as if she was in space, drifting peacefully into oblivion.

"Wow… it's beautiful…" Kisa whispered. "Is this what you do every day?"

"Ha ha ha! No, but perhaps I should." Jackson slowly drifted her back to the ground. The blue fragments faded out of sight. "Sorry for that, didn't hear you coming." He turned off the music that was playing from the sound system. It had been playing far louder than he thought…

"It's okay. That was wonderful." Kisa landed on her feet. "Right. Thea's found a batarian that might work for us."

"Hmmm? Really?" Jackson said. "What's his name?"

"Her, actually." Thea shouted across the apartment. Thea had been tearing through the apartment, trying to find something. So far, she had no luck. "She's a one tough bitch."

_Female batarian? What? _Jackson wondered. _Never seen them before… Did they ever leave batarian space?_

"I was kinda surprised, too. Her name is Rallel Ghanovan, a fighter pilot and an explosive specialist. Currently in Citadel under terrorism charges." Jackson was sure that Kisa could see right through him. "Apparently she's been framed because she had refused to detonate escape pods."

"A Batarian, who's a pilot, and who knows what's right from wrong. That's a rare specimen you found!" Jackson mused.

"It wasn't easy. Now you better recruit her!" Thea shouted again.

"How…? She's being charged in Citadel!" Jackson asked.

"That's your job, not mine! … Ah, found it!" Thea replied. She got out a long, deadly-looking rifle from the heap of clothing. Standing in the middle of the chaotic living room with a rifle as thick has her body, Thea looked like the goddess of war. "Don't ask." She said.


	11. A Coin has Two Sides

Kisa and Jackson visited Nekros yesterday at his temporary residence. He was glad to see a friendly face (well, a face and a mask) in such a hostile environment. He quickly told them that his duty was extended on Omega. He had to stay for another week, this time inspecting armour. Nekros made no attempts to hide his annoyance.

"I envy you, Bui." Nekros complained.

"Why?" Jackson/ Bui replied, again in his high-pitched voice. As much as he tried to deny it, he was quite enjoying being a Quarian – it made him feel carefree. The suit had flexed and adjusted to his body, so it was now relatively comfortable to wear.

"Because you have a _reason_ to do something. I thought the military would give me a reason, but all they do is to talk about politics!"

"Well…" Jackson mumbled. He wanted to recruit Nekros immediately, but then it would make him a deserter. That would be problematic for Nekros after the mission. "Why don't you quit?"

"Because I don't have a good excuse." Nekros answered. "I can't just quit…"

_Perhaps I can do something with the Turian military's roster? _Kisa thought. "We'll figure something out."

Nekros laughed. "Thanks. That means a lot to me."

"You'll find that she's a women of her words." Bui said quietly.

Nekros stared at his guests, stunned by their seriousness.

...

_This isn't my job! _Thea thought, angrily smoothing the creases of her business suite. _It's always been either Kisa or someone else doing the diplomacy!_ She walked nervously past the customs office of the Citadel. She wasn't sure about how the Citadel will react to her after almost two hundred years of no contact, but the C-Sec officers didn't stop her.

Jackson had sent her to the Citadel to recruit Rallel, despite her complains.

"It _is_ your job! You are the leader, you recruit!" Thea argued.

"There's no point arguing Thea. Kisa told me all about you." Jackson commanded, still reading through thousands of documents regarding possible candidates for the mission. Thea knew that some of those documents had information about her.

"About what?" Thea asked, polishing the gun she found three days ago.

"Your reading. She told me that you've read more than a thousand books regarding law and diplomacy – even stole some during your heists. I found that ironic, by the way."

Thea immediately knew that she lost. Jackson and Kisa was right – she _had_ been reading a lot about law, probably enough to become a lawyer. After a nightmare almost a hundred years ago, she had decided that she needed to know law as much as anyone else in order to continue her work. So far, it hadn't come into much use, becoming more of a habit than anything else. Thea probably knew enough about legislation to get Rallel out legally.

That's how she ended up here, travelling alone to the Citadel (Jackson and Kisa decided to capture the real terrorist to replace Rallel, so they were off fighting somewhere, leaving her out of the fun). She looked up at the Citadel sky, happy to see it again. Although the Citadel was too quiet for her liking, it was a good place to wind down.

_Perhaps coming here was a good idea after all. _Thea looked peacefully across the station. _The city amongst the stars, the heart of the galaxy…_

She made her way to the Zakara Ward, where she made an appointment to meet Rallel. Although she was only a suspect, the threat of terror wasn't taken lightly in the Citadel. Even after her identity was double checked, she was escorted to the meeting room with two armed guards, both Turian. They wore heavy C-Sec armour, wielding the classical Phaeston. They made no attempt to hide their menace, though Thea could tell that they were somewhat scared.

"You have be given the right to speak with suspect in private, ma'am. She's been unshackled for the interrogation, as per your request. But, if you need any assistance or feel threatened in any way, then please press this button" The left guard said in a gruff voice as he handed her a small disk. It had nothing but a large, red button on top of it.

"Please be careful. That women is dangerous!" The other guard spoke, his split voice being accented further due to his nervousness.

"Don't worry. I will be fine." Thea replied in the most cheerful way possible. The guard opened the heavy door that separated the prisoners from the outside world. Inside was a starkly lit room. It had only one piece of furniture – a large metallic table set. The blinking lights or glow panels that normally filled the Citadel was nowhere to be seen. The smell of blood hung ghastly in the air. It was clearly designed to make the guests uncomfortable.

On the side opposite to Thea was a batarian women, who had her feet up on the table and sitting very comfortably on the blocky chair. She wore green prisoner's clothes. Thea couldn't make out the details of her face – her own shadows covered a majority of it. Despite her situation, Rallel looked very much like in her element. The women open her top right eye and stared at Thea.

"Who are you?" Rallel asked. Her voice was deep for a women, but definitely feminine.

"Hello, my name is Thea Sorac. I am your possible lawyer." Thea replied in the most business-like manner. She had to find out more about the subject: What was she like? Was she suitable? What were her weaknesses? Her strengths? Was she ready to sacrifice her life? (That's what Jackson asked Kisa and herself so Thea planned on simply copying him).

"Lawyer? Humph! Nobody can get me out of prison. Why are you here anyway? Who sent you?" Rallel asked. She opened all her eyes, but didn't move her feet when Thea sat down across the table.

"I assure you that I have the necessary means to take you out of prison." Thea answered. She actually did know of a way to get her out, but it would require some bloodshed if Rallel didn't cooperate. "I am here to make that happen. As for who sent me-"

"If you are thinking of recruiting a prisoner, then you are crazy." Rallel cut her short. She knew that nobody would try to get her out of prison – no friends, no family, being chased by Blue Suns, the only person who would try to get her out of prison would be some crazily rich person wanting a personal band of mercenaries.

In a way, she was correct.

"Perhaps. The person who sent me wants to find out more about you." Thea said.

"Well tell him that he should learn to use a gun" Rallel said, closing her eyes once more. She really didn't care about anything anymore – perhaps a prison was a good place to be. It can't be worse then what she's done…

"He knows." Thea replied. Seeing that the conversation will lead nowhere, she decided to switch her gears. "Hey! Sit straight! I'm talking to you! I'm here to save you, and damn right get you into a crazy band of mercenaries. You've heard of the Geth attack on the Citadel? Well, they're not dead, and they need to be taken care of. The guy who sent me wants to recruit you for it, alright? He knows how to shoot, and also know how to rip your arms off with his mind, but he wants your help, okay? Now that you know, listen properly!" Thea scolded.

Rallel removed her feet from the table and stared blankly at Thea. She hadn't expected the asari to come out so tough – a lawyer were normally a snivelling idiots who would mess their pants if they saw a gun, but this asari was clearly different. This asari would be on the trigger end of the gun.

_What in the world is this…?_

…

Kisa looked at Jackson, who stood in his full combat gear. Although she had seen many threatening enemies, she had never seen anyone like Jackson. Mechanical and unmoving, he seemed to personify death. His black armour's design was seamless, encasing Jackson's personality within. Standing in the dark, Jackson was almost invisible save for his visor, which glowed in red. Kisa felt like she was standing next to a shadow – a very lethal shadow.

Jackson's actions had changed too. He was always the one to give smiles (even under his Quarian mask), making people feel welcome and special. He always talked in a friendly way with a simple underscore of seriousness. He was always the "likable person". But inside his armour, he was silent. No unnecessary movements, no loose ends. Not even the sound of breathing. When he spoke, he spoke in a minimalist style, finishing the conversation as soon as possible. Throughout the firefight, he was the horrifying killer, showing no pity to his enemies. The usual blue glow that biotics made was hidden by his armour, and he launched the salvos in the most optimal position. Even when he was blown back by a grenade, he didn't grunt, his only reply being a bullet to the victim's head. He was designed for combat.

Kisa felt scared – she hadn't seen someone so deadly before. Although she was on Jackson's side, his mere presence made her tremble. The fact that his biotics were stunningly powerful, and his aim always precise, didn't help either.

They now stood outside the Blue Sun's main hideout, having eliminated the gatekeepers. A Blue Suns major hid here, who clearly hasn't expected his Omega fort to be punched through like paper. Now, he was hiding inside, hoping to escape somehow (that wasn't possible: Kisa made sure that the communications from the compound was severed completely).

"Concussive rounds. We need hostages. No talking: I don't accept surrenders." Jackson said. Kisa realised that he was talking to her.

"Right. I'm ready when you are." Kisa replied.

Jackson gave her a short nod and raised his left hand, positioning his Mattock rifle against his chest. The metal blast door imploded, folding up into a small ball.


	12. Prisoners

Jackson flicked his hand backward, flinging the door out of the way. Sparks flew as the ball of metal crashed against the floor, coming to rest on the far side of the courtyard. Jackson still stood in the middle of the doorway, unmoving. The interior lights were turned off, though Kisa could make out the shadowy outlines of the furniture. The room looked largely untouched, which surprised her – she had expected the man to try to blockade the door. Instead, everything was ghostly and silent.

Jackson walked into the room, leaving Kisa unsure of what to do. Jackson hadn't told her to do anything throughout the whole gunfight, doing everything by himself. She felt like an unwanted guest who Jackson had ignored. Perhaps it was the remnants of his Lone Wolf fighting.

Standing in the middle of the room, Jackson spun on the spot, scanning the room through his gun sight. Seemingly detecting nothing, he dropped his gun to his hips and looked at the doorway, where Kisa stood in cover. His red visor was the only thing that gave out light in the room – light of a floating ghost. For a moment, he seemed to be surprised, and also confused, though such postures immediately vanished. He signalled Kisa to come in and to take cover near his position.

As soon as she stepped in, a large chunk of metal rose up from the ground, shutting the doorway with a loud clang. It immediately formed a barrier in front of itself, preventing both Jackson and Kisa from removing it by force. Kisa, who ran to take position near a sofa, realised something was horribly wrong.

The lights flicked back on, causing her to squint. Jackson, however, seemed unaffected, and merely raised his gun to the firing position. He was also charging his biotics again – Kisa could feel it.

"Who are you? What do you want? Do you really think that you can just come in and kill me?" A voice boomed throughout the room. Kisa's eyes slowly adjusted to the light, allowing her to identify a large hole in the ceiling. It was the building's second floor – filled with dozens of LOKI mechs and three YMIR killing machines. They were all active, their guns pointing directly at them. A single command, and they would be riddled with bullets. The sofa's meagre cover would not save Kisa, let alone Jackson, who stood on top of a table without a cover.

"As you can see, you are about to die. Plea for mercy, then I might save you!" The voice boomed again. It came from four speakers that were positioned strategically around the room.

What happened next happened within a matter of seconds. Kisa felt a strong biotic slam against her left side, pushing her into the kitchen area of the room. It had metallic serving table, as well as being relatively out of sight – it was enough cover against the machines. By the time she recovered from the initial shock, roar of gunfire filled the room, hailing the bottom floor with accelerated particles. Jackson, however, had biotic charged into one of the YMIR mechs, avoiding the bullets altogether. He smashed the machine's 'head' with the butt of his rifle, destroying it completely. Before other mechs could re-target him, he threw three fragmentation grenade into the fray while simultaneously lifting another YMIR mech into the air. Guns blazing, he sprinted in and out of various pieces of furniture, blasting everything out of the way. When his shields were finally depleted, he rolled off the edge of the 2nd floor, bringing down the hovering mech against the third YMIR. Soon, a large explosion ensued. Coupled by more waves of biotic attacks, the small army of robots were soon reduced to a smouldering mess. Parts of the upper floor started to collapse, too.

Kisa watched in awe as Jackson stood once again on top of the table, which had cracked in the middle. The whole building started to catch on fire as the burning robots landed on the bottom floor. Oblivious to the outside world, Jackson simply unloaded the spent thermal clip and snapped in a new one.

"To answer your questions, Liam Jackson, your head, yes and no." Jackson said loudly. "Get out and plea for mercy. Then I might save you." He holstered his rifle and stood still, his arms stretching straight down his sides. The armour flickered briefly before regenerating his shields in a field of blue.

Kisa felt a cold chill, even though she was sweating from the heat of the fire. Even after _that_, Jackson still made no more noise. His breathing, if it had fastened, was still unnoticeable. In battle, this man was beyond cool-headed… more like mechanical. She stood up, leaving the upturned table that had served as her cover. There were only a couple of bullet marks on its top. Her pistol (she had finally given Jackson's pistol back, mainly since its high-accuracy style did not match her abilities), was yet to fire a shot, its barrel dead cold. She could not close her mouth, not after what she's seen.

_This human… what exactly is he? _Kisa thought, realising how much she still had to learn about Jackson.

A batarian jumped out from a hidden room near the staircase. Through the open door, Kisa could see that the room he was in was caught in fire, and a large plume of smoke was filling it rapidly.

"Mercy! Mercy! Please!" The batarian coughed. His armour deactivated, leaving him vulnerable.

"Jackson, we should get out of here. This place is going to come down very soon!" Kisa said, as she hacked into the metal door's controls. The barrier was still up and running – Jackson would not be able to disable it using his biotics: it was too illusive to physically manipulate.

Jackson, whose armour's lights started to flash as a response to the fire, drew out his pistol and shot the batarian in the head. It knocked him out with a nasty lump forming above his right eye. Picking him up with his biotics, he made his way to Kisa, who quickly managed to get the door open.

As they made their way back to their residence, firefighting teams began to arrive, dousing the burning house with extinguishing foam. All traces of their bloodbath will also disappear, leaving only the dead guards' bodies to bury.

…

The room was heavy with silence. Neither the batarian nor the asari spoke after the video ended. Jackson had supplied the video that his science team had decrypted long time ago, just in case the Batarian didn't believe the story. Both Kisa and Thea had been appalled by the film back in the Overlook Restaurant, and seeing it for the second time didn't change Thea's fears. She finally understood why Jackson had decided against releasing this film on the extranet; it would almost certainly cause widespread panic. Although the galaxy would be more prepared against an impending war, if the Reapers didn't come for another century, then the galaxy would cease to be on alert – something which would make everyone even more vulnerable.

It may also be seen as just another hoax and ignored.

The doomsayers were never popular. Rarely did any of them managed to predict an actual doom. The really smart ones had to spread their message quietly, one leader at a time.

"So… that… human Spectre last year was… correct?" Rallel asked, rather needlessly. The video was true and real enough. The Reapers existed, and they may very soon arrive.

"Yes. Commander Shepard, the very first human Spectre was speaking the truth about the Reapers. The guy I'm working for wants to stop this threat, and so he needs the best and the best. But he also wants those who knows their responsibility, knows what's right from what's wrong and also ones who are prepared to die." Thea said.

Rallel closed all of her eyes, though this time she was trying to think. The asari in front of her had flipped her world upside down – someone wanted to hire her, Reapers existed and most importantly, she had a shot at getting out of prison. She opened her top right eye and looked at Thea. After even more silence (Thea didn't want to disturb her, though she was clearly getting impatient), Rallel opened all four eyes once more.

"Get me outta here then!"

…

"What should we do sir?" The Specialist asked. Their shadow agent (HIGHCOM's favourite, Agent Fin) had confirmed Liam's presence on Nevos, but he had eventually lost his trail. The Fin had had a hard time, first identifying Liam on Matra Hospital, then discovering his contact with Black Paint, and finally retrieving information about Liam's destination – Omega. However, due to Omega's lack of government and security as well as Liam's carefulness, he could not find Liam or Bui nar Tapaan (Liam's new identity, according to Black Paint).

He did, however, managed to identify Liam's companions – two asaris named Kisana Sorac and Thea Sorac. Both of them had a colourful history of heist and murder, ones that made Admiral wonder if Agent Fin had found the right people. After all, Liam was the sort of person who would kill thieves rather than to work with them… or hit them with concussive rounds and turn them to justice. But Fin demanded that these were Liam's companions, so the Admiral didn't ask further.

Now, one of his companions, Thea, was right here on the Citadel, claiming to be a lawyer for _another_ criminal who's under suspicion for being a terrorist. Although the Admiral couldn't arrest her (he had no power to charge crimes committed outside Council space), he could probably put her on the watchlist too. But something held him back – his utter trust in Liam.

"Sir?" The Specialist asked again.

The Admiral lit his omni-cigar. Although he had cut smoking almost ten years ago, he still had the habit of chewing something when thinking. An omni-cigar, which didn't use fire, was a perfect replacement. "Put Agent Fin on the line for me. Do not put Ms Sorac on the general watchlist. I'll put an agent on her." The Admiral finally replied.

"Yes sir! … Agent Fin is on the line, sir."

"Agent Fin here, sir!" The young man's face appeared on the Admiral's computer screen. Having piercing blue eyes, blazing red hair and a tall nose, he was always popular among girls. He also had a very smooth and melodic voice, one that he seemed to use with great effect. However, the Admiral didn't like him – he was too arrogant.

"Agent, I'm sending you on another shadow mission. Track Ms Thea Sorac and Ms Rallel Ghanovan. I'll send you their info now." The Admiral sent him the locations and the details of the two subjects. The man on the screen glanced down, his omni-tool beeping.

"Sir Yes sir!" the man said without looking up. He closed the connection before the Admiral could dismiss him. The bastard was taking full advantage of his continuing MIA status.

The Admiral put away his omni-cigar.

_Why are you hiding Liam?_


	13. Dailogue

"Is this your story again?" Nekros asked, drinking another shot of Turian brandy. Having completed today's work early, he had decided to meet his friend, who had been working on Omega. He admired his friend very much – charismatic, royal and driven, he was a leader that Nekros will never be. Most importantly though, his friend had ditched C-Sec to follow Commander Shepard, fulfilling a purpose that he made for himself. Now, with the Commander dead, he continued to live a life that he believed was right – and Nekros was jealous.

"Well, you can't possibly think I'll lie, will you?" His friend replied. He still wore that visor of his, though Nekros had noticed that it had been upgraded. It was no longer a large rectangle, but now closely covered his left eye. Nekros had always wondered why he had his visor all the time – and why only on the left eye – but he never bothered to ask.

"No, but I trust the Council, too. They said-"

"The Council are just a bunch of idiots who only care about how they look!" Garrus replied.

"I know, I know. But what can I do? Even if you are right, I can't help, and as much as I hate it, I have a duty, too." Nekros said. They had this conversation before – something about the Sovereign not being Geth. That was the only fault that his friend had – being scared of these things called Reapers.

Garrus seemed to think deeply about his reply. His eyes darted to and fro, searching for answers; a way to convince others of the existence of the Reapers. Eventually, like hundreds times before, he found nothing.

"I used to think that duty was with the hierarchy as well. But even the leaders make mistakes. That when soldiers like us take things into our own hands and kill whatever crazy thing is out there… I think this is one of those cases." Garrus finally spoke. Although he tried to hide it, it was clear to Nekros that he was almost begging for him to believe his words. An awkward silence hung about for a couple of seconds.

"I trust you Garrus. I really do. But I don't know what to do..." Nekros said, finishing his brandy. "But I'll fight. That's the only thing I can do – fighting. If you are right, and the Reapers do come, I will be ready. And I'll kick some alien ass with you when the time comes." Nekros knew that at least that part was true – _if_ such thing as Reapers existed, then he would be ready.

…

Kisa leaned forward on her seat to check the control panel:

DEST: **CITADEL**

ETA: **89 MINUTES**

SHIP STAT: **OPTIMAL, SPEED**

TRAVEL STAT: **IN-TRANSIT, RELAY JUMP**

Satisfied that everything was going well, she sat back, rotating her seat towards Jackson. Gentle music played from the speakers, enough to cancel the dry hum of their borrowed ship. It was a small shuttle, designed for intergalactic postal service. It had enough room for only two people (in the cockpit), but its cargo hold was large enough to house a skycar. Right now though, it housed a small prison where the Blue Suns Batarian was probably nursing his wound. Jackson's shot didn't break the bone, but came very close to it.

Jackson was in the pilot's seat, though he wasn't doing much. Their course was pre-plotted thousands of times before, so the computer could handle most of the flying. Jackson simply sat back and read his datapad (while also forming a blue ball with his right hand). Being a slow reader, he was still reading through the various documents about possible candidates.

"So, found anyone yet?" Kisa asked. She had many other questions to ask, but she decided to play safe for now.

"No." Jackson said. He turned off the datapad and placed it back into his bag. He still kept his ball though, making it hover above his head. "I should probably get some rest from reading."

He snatched the ball from its location, which never quite touched his hands. He started to play around with it, splitting it into four, spinning them around the cockpit and eventually joining them back together. Kisa could see that he was focusing very hard trying to move the shapes in the way he wanted them to move. It was an impressive skill. After that, he changed the colour of the ball from blue to green to yellow to red to…

"So… Why are you doing this?" Kisa finally asked a question she's been wanting to ask for some time.

"Well, it's fun, pretty and it helps me to control my biotics." Jackson replied. He then bit his lips in concentration. After turning the ball back to blue, he created a small network of light within the ball. The web didn't last long though – it immediately fell apart. "Damn, I can never get that to work."

"No, no, not why you're doing _this_. Why are we recruiting a member from different species?" Kisa asked again. The blue ball vanished.

"Well…" He hesitated, scratching his left palm. Jackson had avoided explaining things beyond Beta-Two, simply because it was a painful memory. But he decided that at least Kisa deserved an explanation. A brief, cut explanation.

"There's… a Prothean structure beyond Beta-Two. I don't know exactly what it is or what it does, but it seems like some sort of a fort. My science team…" Jackson paused for a moment, his throat tightening. "Reported that there was an AI called the Observer inside the structure. They managed to talk to it, which revealed that it, and the structure it resided in, was some sort of a command centre in the past cycle. From there, a Prothean could activate all remaining war assets that was scattered throughout the galaxy."

Kisa had expected some sort of ideological explanation, perhaps something about "species bonding together to fight the Reapers", like what Commander Shepard said before the Spectre died. So she was surprised when Jackson started to speak about Operation Unveiling.

"But the Observer didn't grant access to the science team, claiming that humans didn't represent a significant portion of the current galactic intelligence. So that's why I'm bringing a member from every species onto this mission, to get that stupid AI to activate the assets." He summed up briefly.

"Oh… That makes sense." Kisa said, although there were many things that didn't make sense at all. For example, why was a Prothean command centre so far away from the Citadel? Why didn't the AI activate the assets _before_ the Protheans were killed? How could that stop the Reapers?

_Patience. I'm sure Jackson is waiting for an opportunity to explain everything._

…

Rallel ran out of patience. From what she could see, so had Thea. Ironically though, they were asking for patience.

"Please! Listen to me! We have the true culprit coming to the Citadel this very moment! If you could just delay your verdict for another thirty minutes, then we can provide new evidence to the case!" Thea pleaded. It wasn't in her nature to ask – she just did what she wanted. For now though, she had to bow down low.

"And who will confirm that statement?" The jury asked. They were more or less scared of both Thea and Rallel and wanted to imprison them. However, since Thea was currently a lawyer, and her crimes were committed outside the council space, she could easily elude the law. So they had to at least lock down Rallel.

"I will."

Everyone in the courtroom (which weren't many – a couple of small-time politicians, two camera crew, five judges, Rallel and Thea) turned around to see the newcomer. He was a tall, red haired human with a piercing blue eyes. He wore the humans' formal black business suit with the Alliance logo stamped neatly on his left shoulder. His voice was crisp and polished, and so was his gait. Surprisingly though, he made barely any sound as he walked. He stood up on the podium next to Thea and gave her a wink. Thea repressed the urge to punch him.

"May I ask, who are you? How did you enter this room?" One of the judge asked, clearly confused at this man's proud arrival. A trial for a possible terrorist, regardless of the size, was held in a high-security room. No civilians could get in without permission.

"My name is Finley Adams. I am… an Alliance officer. I currently hold the access status A under the directives 45 Spec-Ops and 9824 HIGHCOM." The human explained. "The two being next to me, Rallel Ghanovan and Thea Sorac is currently under HIGHCOM watchlist, and I reserve the right to detain them. With it, I would like to grant the Asari her wish to delay this current trial by one hour."

The juries (and Thea) were shocked – directive 45 Spec-Ops meant that this human had almost Spectre level clearance, and HIGHCOM was the mysterious human organization which had gained significant lawful privileges throughout the galaxy. Their presence was just as revered as the Spectre's, though only few lawyers who specialised in high security knew about them.

Four out of the five judged knew about the directive 9824 HIGHCOM, and also knew that HIGHCOM members usually ended an argument with a firefight. Clearly not liking the concept of dying that day, the judges quickly voted to delay the trial. The fifth judge, who didn't know about HIGHCOM, complained, though he was silenced by the other four very quickly.

The three defendants left the trial room, heading towards Rallel's detaining cell. The Human was grinning, the Batarian was confused and the Asari was contemplating on whether to commit her first impulsive murder.


	14. DIRECTIVES

**Directive 44 Spectre**

**44 Spectre definition: Spectre is a recognised personnel named and identified by the Council. They may come from any race, gender, age and background. **

**44-1: All Spectre members, regardless of their previous status or race, may operate without the boundaries of law in all Council based areas as outlined in the directive 7 Division of Command.**

**44-2: All Spectre members must respond directly and only to the orders of the Council. Other diplomatically represented leader may wield this power only when more than two Council representatives has directly given permission.**

**44-3: All Spectre members must do everything in their power in order to protect the safety, security and the power of the Council and the citizens of the Galaxy.**

**44-4: All Spectre members are given access status A Prime. They may utilise their clearance in any place at any time without the hindrance or prior report.**

**44-5: Any member of the Council has the power to withdraw a person or persons Spectre status only under circumstances outlined below**

**44-5a. A Spectre has acted upon Treason, both directly or indirectly**

**44-5b. A Spectre has intentionally harmed or killed one or more other Spectre members.**

**44-5c. A Spectre has physically harmed or killed any diplomat outlined under the directive 4 Council without prior confirmation by all representatives of the Council.**

**44-5d. A Spectre has repeatedly (on more than three confirmed occasions) shown behaviours of insubordination. In this case, the Spectre can only be dismissed if more than two votes are made by the members of the Council.**

**44-5e. A Spectre is confirmed KIA or unconfirmed KIA.**

**44-5f. A Spectre do not report to the Council or any recognised command for more than five years. They, however, cannot be considered AWOL under any circumstances and will be considered MIA.**

**44-6: A dismissed Spectre is considered a Suspect of Crime from the moment of dismissal (unless subjected under article 44-5e. and article 44-5f.) and will be arrested on sight.**

**44-7: All Spectre may resign from his or her position at any given moment except during an ongoing operation. The Council must accept this resignation and provide welfare and surveillance for the former Spectre until their death.**

**Directive 45 Spec-Ops**

**45 Spec-Ops definition: Spec Ops is a recognised team or a branch of military named and identified by a Council race. A non-Council race may submit a request to identify a Spec-Ops group, though their identification under directive 45 Spec-Ops may only result with at least two votes from the Council.**

**45-1: As of 2184, there are six identified group of Spec-Ops, listed below**

**Blackwatch, Turian military division.**

**Primarch Hierachy, Turian line of Command.**

**Thessian Asari Commandos, Asari military division.**

**Special Tasks Group, Salarian military/science group.**

**Interplanetary Combatives Training N7, Human military division.**

**HIGHCOM, Human-based special operations group.**

**45-2: All Spec-Ops members are given privileges and limitations as per outlined in directive 44 Spectre except for the following**

**45-2a. All Spec-Ops members must abide by the laws or directives set out in their field of operations. However, they are given special privileges and/or representation in case of a suspected unlawful act during their operation.**

** Spec-Ops members must respond directly to their respective Command and indirectly to the Council.**

**45-2c. All Spec-Ops operations must be confirmed by at least one member of the Council.**

**45-2d. All Spec-Ops members are given access status B without hindrance. They reserve the right to wield the power of up to access status A Prime for limited time after prior confirmation by at least one member of the Council.**

**45-2e. Any Council member has the rights to dismiss, disclose or command the facts and information dealt with all Spec-Ops groups.**

**45-2f. All Spec Ops members must abide by the orders of a Spectre.**

**45-2g. All diplomats outlined under the directive 4 Council reserve the right to reject a Spec-Ops members' privileges within their own area of space as outlined under the directive 7 Division of Command.**

**45-3: Individual Spec-Ops teams reserve the right to modify, challenge or remove parts of the directive 45 Spec-Ops. All such revisions must be confirmed by all members of the Council to take effect.**

**45-4: Individual Spec-Ops teams' modifications to the directive 44 Spectre or 45 Spec-Ops are outlined in the directives 1121, 1122, 1400, 1732, 9020, and 9824.**

**Directive 9824 HIGHCOM**

**9824 HIGHCOM definition: HIGHCOM is a recognised team of Special Operations team under the directive 45 Spec-Ops. HIGHCOM is affiliated with, but not part of, Systems Alliance military. Only a selected few chosen by the HIGHCOM command receives the rights to operate under this directive.**

**9824-1: All HIGHCOM members, regardless of their previous status or race, may operate without the boundaries of law in all Council based areas. They are limited only by the orders of the sector Command, a presence of a Spectre or an intervention from any diplomats outlined under the directive 4 Council.**

**9824-2: All HIGHCOM members must respond directly to the Officer-In-Command and indirectly to the Systems Alliance and the Council.**

**9824-3: All HIGHCOM members must do everything in their power in order to protect the safety and security of the Council, Systems Alliance and all citizens of the Galaxy.**

**9824-4: All HIGHCOM members are given access status A without hindrance. They reserve the right to wield the power of up to access status A Prime for limited time of six months after prior confirmation by at least one member of the Council.**

**9824-5: All HIGHCOM members may modify their identity within their own discretion without prior notifications to the Systems Alliance. However, they are required to report into Command within two weeks if a Priority 1 Hail is made. They will be considered MIA if they do not respond to the given Hail.**

**9824-6: All HIGHCOM members reserve the right to represent the Human Ambassador without prior notice. They must, however, report their representation after such events.**

**9824-7: All HIGHCOM members reserve the right to declare themselves with a Systems Alliance military ranking of Commander. This declaration, however, does not transfer them to part of the Systems Alliance command.**

**9824-8: All HIGHCOM members may remain MIA within Systems Alliance List of Casualties while being actively on duty at HIGHCOM. HIGHCOM reserves the right to keep their own List of Casualties. However, if they are KIA, then they will thus be represented in the Systems Alliance List of Casualties under HIGHCOM's discretion.**

**9824-9: All HIGHCOM members are given the right to purchase element zero (solid, liquid and gas), biotic-enhancing drugs (including recreational drugs), biotic amplifiers and all types of weaponry (both legal and illegal) without prior consent.**

**9824-10: All HIGHCOM members reserve the right to recruit/hire citizens of the Council and its Allies at their own discretion. Such personnel will not be considered as a part of the HIGHCOM until confirmed by the Systems Alliance.**

…

Eddie Han, current Head of HIGHCOM, PhD of Exotic Biology and Micro Electromagnetics, Systems Alliance Admiral, Second-in-Command of Eighth Fleet.

Biography of Eddie Han and HIGHCOM:

2143: Eddie Han is born on Earth

2169: Early graduation at MIT with doctor's degree in Micro Electromagnetics and bachelor's degree in Theoretical Physics.

2170: Joins the L Implant Program

2172: Earns a doctor's degree in Exotic Biology in Illium

2174: Establishes HIGHCOM, then science-only company dedicated to observing social impacts of biotic human beings. He marries to Anne White, a Mars-born military women.

2175: Systems Alliance acquires HIGHCOM for its possible value in the military. Eddie Han accepts the rank of a Commander under the condition that HIGHCOM remains solely within his control.

2176: Leaves the L Implant Program after disputes regarding the L2 implants. HIGHCOM merges with Special Actions Strike Team in the Alliance Navy.

2179: Eddi Han promoted to Admiral's rank due to his excellence in Defence Administration.

2181: Officially names HIGHCOM as part of the Special Operations group under Citadel Military Directive 45 Spec Ops. Actively recruits various biotic-capable soldiers, regardless of the race. Alpha Team is only from the Operation Small Shield, Beta Team is only from Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training members. Delta Team is from various other sources.

CURRENT: Active…


	15. HIGHCOM

"Who the hell are you?" Thea and Rallel asked simultaneously. They just arrived at to Rallel's detaining cell, which was was much more comfortable than the one where Thea and Rallel had their interview: It had four padded chairs, a wooden table and a computer. However, neither of them were thinking about their newfound luxuries, being too worried about the rare and powerful human being in front of them. Thea was even more worried – how did HIGHCOM, Jackson's old affiliation, find them? What did they want?

She had a hunch that she wasn't going to like the answers.

"Hello. I apologize for the sudden and unexpected entrance. My name is Finley Adams, Alliance Spec-Ops member. Please call me Fin." The human answered. He sat on one of the chairs, indicating both women to sit on the other side. They complied placidly.

"I am currently under the orders of Admiral Han, second-in-command of the Alliance Eighth Fleet, to observe both of you and, if need be, get you out of trouble." He opened an official-looking document on his omni tool and turned his screen towards the two women. Thea gave the document a brief glance: He was right – it was a direct, hand-written document by some Alliance admiral.

"But I don't have the clearance to get you out if you are condemned under terrorism laws. The best I can do right now is to delay the trial." He said, turning off his omni-tool. An uneasy silence fell upon the three people… well, two people, since the human showed no sign of discomfort.

"You are a HIGHCOM member?" Thea finally asked. She would have loved to get out her darling shotgun right about now, but she didn't bring it to the Citadel. She knew she was going to regret that decision.

The human merely stared at her, his face still frozen in his grin. Rallel could see that he was somewhat surprised at the question.

_What's HIGHCOM?_

"Yes." The human replied. "Now, you have claimed that there is further evidence arriving soon? I hope I haven't been cheated on the first day!" Thea repressed another impulse to punch.

As if in response, Thea's omni-tool beeped. She opened the message.

_Will be arriving in fifteen minutes with the package, Kisa_

Glad to escape the human in front of her, she excused herself and left room quickly, much to Rallel's horror. However, Rallel didn't have to stay alone with the human – he also left the room without a word, silently shadowing Thea.

…

"I hope this identity is clean even in the Citadel." Jackson said. He wore the enviro suit again, which Kisa noticed that it has stretched to fit his body. Now, he was just a very tall Quarian walking with crutches.

"You can stay in the ship if you like. We should be able to handle things by ourselves." Kisa suggested. She suddenly felt a strange chill – the last time when Jackson was under a breathing mask, he was a ruthless, lone wolf killer. But now, he was a friendly Quarian. The stark juxtaposition was unsettling.

"Nah, I want to see this new recruit first as a Quarian. See how she acts." Jackson replied.

The cockpit's overhead lights turned green, indicating that they finally gained the clearance to land. Jackson manoeuvred the ship into the docking bay close to the Ward. A flood of noise and light filled their cockpit as soon as the airtight door opened. The Citadel was an ever-busy, ever-bright place, even when it was technically night time. That was one advantage of the eternal daylight of the artificial city.

Thea stood just outside with three police guards, ready to escort the new evidence to the questioning room. She greeted them formally, although she did squeeze Jackson's hand very hard.

_She's pissed off that I sent her here._ Jackson smiled. The thick gloves had absorbed most of the pressure. _She's gonna have to learn that she can't do what she wants..._ _Forming a brand new team was never going to be easy._

"So, is the evidence safe?" Thea asked.

"Safe and secure, and very willing to answer." Kisa said. Jackson had scared the living daylights out of the Batarian before they left, threatening him to "personally take care of" him if he didn't answer properly. The Batarian looked as if he would rather fight a Thresher Maw than to see Jackson again.

"Good. I've been having trouble here with the law and stuff, but I'm sure a real criminal can change the tides." Thea said, inspecting the pressurised soft-room that was in the cargo hold. "Sirs? Could you please kindly move the person inside that room to the questioning room? I'm sure he'll bring a new perspective into the case." The police officers nodded. They scanned the new Asari and her injured Quarian friend, to make sure that they weren't a threat. The scanner beeped when it tried to scan Bui, but that happened all the time with Quarians. They just waved the startled kid away.

The trio made their way down back to Rallel's detaining cell. Jackson told them that he will meet them in the courtroom, and headed towards the C-Sec office to gain clearance (Kisa and Thea already had access status A from a deal with the Asari Councillor a long time ago).

"How are you going to gain clearance? They'll never let you in!" Kisa said.

"I'll just send a word ahead that he's my law student." Thea answered.

"Not sure whether they'll buy that." Jackson replied.

"Probably not, but they'll be too scared to refuse _my_ order." Thea said. The three laughed.

"I'll figure something out. Don't worry." Jackson said.

…

They parted their ways in a dark corridor. Jackson/Bui hobbled his way towards the C-Sec office. His crutch-walking was getting faster by the day, though he still had to act injured. That wasn't easy for a fit and somewhat heavy soldier like him. Still, he managed it, using the wall as his fake support. After about five minutes of crutch-walking, he heard a voice.

"Nice disguise! Wouldn't have recognised you."

Immediately, he stopped, cursing himself for having relaxed his guard. He had focused too much on becoming a Quarian that he forgot to scan ahead. He closed his eyes and probed forward with his senses. There was a human was in front him… A biotic human.

Knowing that nobody else was nearby, he slowly placed the crutches against the wall and reached out with his three-fingered hands. They were visibly glowing blue, and the suit's helmet showed an eezo contamination warning.

The other human resisted biotically, but a simple tug pulled him stumbling into view: Agent Finley Adams.

"Finally found you." Adams said. "That's another tick on my-"

Jackson slammed Adams' body into the wall, pinning him down with his biotics. As much as he wanted to fight hand-to-hand, he knew that the enviro suit wouldn't allow him to throw a punch. Instead, he pulled out an omni blade and drew it close to the Adams' throat, its edge burning viciously with heat.

"This isn't like you, Jackson. A straight-up murder for no reason? Or have you turned gay all of a sudden?" Adams smiled, flashing his teeth. "I thought you had a wife."

Jackson glared at him through the visor. Although Adams couldn't see his face, he could certainly see his eyes, highlighted yellow by the visor. They were everything but friendly.

"That helmet stare is really threatening. You should be a Quarian more often." Adams continued. He tried to struggle free, but Jackson's biotic grip was just too strong. They stood motionless for a couple of more seconds before Jackson released Adams. Adams seemed completely unaffected by his confrontation with death and merely talked on.

"The Admiral was worried about you. His poor little Jackson was gone! What do we do now? How do we fight the Reapers now? What's beyond Beta-"

"Cut to the chase." Jackson interrupted. If he hadn't, then Jackson wasn't sure if he could take in another insult. Agent Fin was only a hair's width away from being a messy splat on the floor. He seemed to realise this, and stopped smiling.

"As I said, the Admiral wants to know why you've gone MIA. Instead of court-martialling you, he decided to talk with you. How nice of him!" To this, Jackson had to agree. He was worried that HIGHCOM would try to hunt him down for going AWOL… or becoming indoctrinated. It was a real possibility for the agents in HIGHCOM, and they already lost two good men due to indoctrination. Because of this, if a HIGHCOM agent suddenly went missing, then they were hunted down to be captured or killed.

But Jackson knew that no-one in HIGHCOM would even _dare_ to fight him.

_Well, no-one except for this bastard._

"HIGHCOM knows where you've been and what you're trying to do. You didn't seem to act indoctrinated, so the Admiral let you off. Seriously though? You're trying to hire a band of mercenaries? For what? A ship full of N7 elites didn't survive your mission, you think others will?"

"Where's the Admiral?" Jackson avoided his question.

"No answers? I thought so. The Admiral's back in his fancy office for once. He's been there ever since you disappeared. You should probably go there now. I'll keep an eye on your ladies." Agent Fin finished. He flashed his signature smile, and started to walk off towards the court room. Jackson wondered how such person managed to pass the N5 program, but he couldn't change history. He sighed, extinguishing the blue flame that encompassed his body. He picked up his crutches and started to hobble towards the Citadel Embassies. He sent a quick message to Kisa using his helmet's interface:

_Sorry Kisa, an important issue just popped up. I'm gonna have to see to that first. If I finish early, I can probably arrange a more comfortable transport back to Omega. Wait for me at the Presidium until I send a message. Good luck with the trial! Liam._


	16. Wolf, meets the Pack

Admiral Han's office looked like a room plucked from a 21st century Sci-Fi movie – a large, circular room with a cushioned swivel chair in the middle, it was filled with various holograms and live feeds of data. One wall was completely covered in one-way glass, giving the Admiral a panorama view of the Citadel. The left wall was a giant screen display, currently showing the list of HIGHCOM combat personnel, their location, their status and their mission. The very bottom row of this list was all blacked out – MIA and KIA. The last five were from the most recent event, Operation Unveiling. The very last name was red instead of black: Jackson, L. On the right side of the room was a small table where his secretary normally sat. Right now though, it was empty: the Admiral had given the secretary a day off. Personally, he hoped that his secretary was learning something while he was in the office, though he was almost certain that he was procrastinating every chance he got.

Admiral Han had a crescent-moon-shaped table, its edges pointing away from the door. On it were even more screens, a pile of data pads, a coffee-cup and a large sign. It read "ADMIRAL EDDIE HAN, SECOND-IN-COMMAND OF ALLIANCE EIGHTH FLEET AND HEAD OF SPECIAL-OPERATIONS: HIGHCOM". The Admiral hated that nametag, but it was a part of the regulations to display it on his table. Nobody seemed to mind it anyway.

The Admiral sat in his chair, facing the window, legs crossed, head bowed, smoking his omni-cigar. He wore the standard Admiral's uniform, neat and cleaned as always. Even his boots were polished like a mirror. He was quite young for an Admiral, scarcely reaching forty. Having had a healthy and balanced life (minus cigars), he looked even younger. But he had experience and wits to match the wisdom of age.

A small chime came from his computer.

"Yes?"

"Admiral, sir! There is a Quarian here who wants to see you! He's name is … Bui, Bui nar Tapaan."

"Let him in."

"Sir!"

The admiral closed his omni-cigar and turned towards the door. Soon, a tall Quarian (but medium height by human standards) entered the room. His suit was a dark green with a purple cloth draped stylishly across his chest. It looked rather stretched and weather-beaten, but groomed in a militaristic manner. The visor was reflective black, with the sensors only highlighting his eyes, glowing yellow. Both of his legs were wrapped in tight bandages, seemingly useless. He stood on two wooden crutches – or was he?

The Quarian gave him a sharp salute, resting his right crutch against his hip. Indeed, his legs were fine… and straight.

"Agent Li, sir."

"At ease, Liam."

Jackson lowered his hands, instinctively grasping the handle of the crutches. He wasn't sure where to begin, but the Admiral spoke again.

"Liam… I won't ask much. Just send me an after-action when you are ready." The Admiral was treading carefully. He knew that, although Liam never showed it, the man was very weak. Jackson was on the verge of emotional collapse, and he couldn't risk that.

"Apologises, sir. I have been… occupied." Jackson said. He turned off his voice distorter, though his voice still echoed slightly before it left his helmet.

"I've heard…"

Silence.

"I don't know what you are doing, Liam, or why you are doing... what you are doing. There are many questions that I should ask you, but…" He got up, indicating Liam to follow. "I won't. I assume there was a reason why you decided against telling us, and I will respect that."

Jackson felt guilty. There was no real reason why he hadn't told the Admiral about Beta-Two yet. He just didn't want to remember the death of his whole crew. He also felt responsible to finish the mission, with or without support… That was his duty.

Jackson followed the Admiral out of the room and toward the Citadel elevator, still using his crutches. The need for the disguise was gone, but he didn't have the luxury to undo his bandages. He decided to stick to his Quarian suit, and turned his voice distorter back on.

It was less than a minute's walk, and neither of them spoke. They got off at the docking bay C.

"You know that I don't like to be kept in the dark. But this time, I'll comply. You are the best hope we have right now… with the Commander Shepard dead, there is no-one who even has the idea on how to fight the Reapers. Not even me." They continued down the long walkway, others respectfully moving out of the Admiral's way. Jackson noted many surprised faces when their eyes came across the Quarian trailing behind him. Most people just ignored him.

"Nobody wants to believe you, and nobody will try to help you. It's a lonely war, Liam." The Admiral sighed deeply. Jackson was surprised – he had known admiral for five years now, but this was the first time he showed this particular emotion: fear. "But I want you to know one thing. You are not alone, Liam." He stopped. A large sign above them indicated their location – C13. On the dry docks was a freshly re-built ship, the redesign of _The_ _Nightly Wind_. It had the general form of a Turian dreadnaught, though with much more organic finish. It strangely reminded Jackson of the Asari hospital room back on Nevos. It had a pair of wings that allowed the spacecraft to be steered in-atmosphere. It could probably house up to fifty crewmen, plus extra for possible guests. It had a noticeably large aft, occupied by eight plasma FTL engines. It was a strange mix of the old and the new designs.

Its armaments were also impressive: at least five visible missile pod launchers, a set of twin mass accelerator guns lining the wings, and a third, much larger cannon following the central length of the ship. It was a relatively small ship, much smaller than the _SSV Jungfrau_, though it seemed capable of taking few hits and dealing out much more. Jackson was impressed at the work that was put into the craft. He also noticed a new name that was painted on the ship's wing – _SSV Horizon_.

"You recognise the ship? The damn retrofits cost just as much as a new dreadnaught. It's even got the stealth drive from the _SSV Normandy_. Not as good as that one, but it should still give you a tactical edge. You've got engineers within that will proudly rattle on about it for days on end." The Admiral paused. "It's yours."

"Sir?" Jackson was sure he didn't hear it right.

"You still legally own the original ship. I have no intentions to take it from you. I want you to know that you are not alone in this." He fished out a badge from his pocket – Alliance Captain. "You've earned this a long time ago, and you will need it… Liam Jackson, I place you in command of _SSV Horizon_ and promote you to a Captain. Good luck, Captain Jackson." He said, as he placed the badge in Jackson's hands.

Jackson was stupefied. He was a deserter, someone who had ordered many of his friends to death. He was a weak-minded person, bordering psychopath. He was an Agent who had failed his mission… Yet he wasn't asked questions or given punishment. Instead of a trial, the Admiral was fully supporting him, telling him to not to fight alone…

For the first time in a decade, he was lost for words. He was flooded with relief, happiness, strength... and most importantly, hope.

He didn't expect to come back alive for the second trip through Beta-Two. He knew that everyone he was recruiting now wouldn't either. Every moment he was with Kisa, he had felt a sense of guilt.

_But now…_

He squeezed his hand around the badge and looked at the Admiral. He gave Jackson a firm nod.

"I'll re-open Operation Unveiling. You will get full HIGHCOM funding and support. Your crew is hand-picked and ready to greet their new Captain. Neither the Council nor the Alliance command has say in this – you take the full rein. It's a risky gamble for me, but I trust you." The Admiral placed his hands on Jackson's shoulders. "Find your friends. Not crewmen, but friends. And trust them… And remember, you always have one right here."

Jackson saluted, fighting back the tears. He was glad that nobody could see his face.

"Sir, yes sir!" He finally managed to say.

Admiral Han gave him a warm smile. He patted his back, and walked back towards his office.

…

Various people went to and fro, many preparing the _SSV Horizon_ for the new Captain. Almost all of them were human, although there were two Quarians, both directly from HIGHCOM. They were new recruits to HIGHCOM, ones that would fill the places of the missing agents once stationed on _SSV Jungfrau_. Many didn't like Quarians, let alone _two_, coming into HIGHCOM, but Admiral Han insisted their presence. _SSV Horizon_ was still very much experimental, and he wanted to make sure that there were experts on board in case anything went wrong. Also, both Quarians had an impressive combat record, and they were even biotic (very, very rare for Quarians), definitely worthy participants in the HIGHCOM ranks. The Admiral had also wanted (unsuccessfully) to promote them to Agents.

Many looked curiously (most with an unexplainable disgust) at the injured male Quarian who stood motionless outside the dry docks. He stood for quite some time looking at the ship, probably admiring the technological marvel that went into the _SSV Horizon_. A few observant individuals noticed that he was holding something in his left hand. Perhaps a coin?

When the HIGHCOM Quarians saw him, they were surprised and very glad to see another Quarian outside the Flotilla. But they didn't approach him: they could see from his posture that this particular Quarian needed some time for himself. So they reluctantly continued their work, supervising the last-minute check-ups on the engines. The Captain would arrive very soon.

After perhaps thirty minutes, the male Quarian sighed. He put something into his pocket, re-positioned his crutches and hobbled away.


	17. New Captain

_Full support. By HIGHCOM._

Jackson took off the enviro-suit, revealing tight-fitting pyjamas underneath. He was back in the post-officer's ship, having purchased a standard Alliance officer uniform on his way. The shop attendant seemed surprised that an injured Quarian was buying a human uniform for no reason, but he didn't ask questions when Jackson presented his access code.

_My mission. With no-one else to order me around._

Jackson put on the uniform, which smelt like perfumed soap. He loved that smell; it reminded him of Catherine. This smell was partially the reason why he always bought his uniform instead of receiving the handouts.

_I am Lone Wolf... But even the maverick has friends._

He used the reflective surface of the cargo bay's door as a mirror. The uniform suited him nicely. It was a bit loose at the shoulders and had a long sleeve, but it wasn't too bad. He bent down on the enviro-suit again, pulling out the badge from the pocket. A Captain's badge, one that didn't think he deserved.

_Duty? Yes. Hope? Yes._

He put on the badge on his left chest. The uniform quickly registered his name, rank and other information, and displayed them accordingly. His name, displayed just above the badge, was written in full – Liam Harry Jackson.

"Let's go. The crew's waiting."

…

James "Alli" Allison was depressed, even though he had every reason _not_ to. He was the very first XO of the _SSV Horizon_, the second state-of-the-art ship made by the Alliance in two years. He was promoted to a Lieutenant Commander two days ago. He liked the new crew very much (except for the Quarians). Everything was perfect.

Except for the fact that there was going to be a new captain.

It had been only five days since _Horizon_ finally left the "garage" and formally commissioned. At the commissioning ceremony, majority of the crew were chosen and already there. Many of them were from the mysterious group called HIGHCOM. Alli enthusiastically noted the absence of a captain… perhaps they hadn't chosen one yet?

For the last five days, he had been working tirelessly, getting to know the crew and supervising the last tests that were being done on the ship. He considered himself the commandeering officer, one day leading this amazing craft into battle. He had even created a list of things to do once he became the captain of _Horizon._

That morning, he had woken up knowing that the ship was ready to fly. For the first time, it could leave the Citadel. He was eccentric, buzzing here and there, making sure that the stocks were filled for any type of mission that the Admiral would send them that day.

His dreams came crashing into the ground just an hour ago – a new captain was to arrive that day. His orders were to "fully support the Captain in all his intentions, commitments and plans".

_Whoever that is coming through that door better be very, **very** good._ He thought as he glared at the airlock that usually served as the main entrance.

…

Kisana Sorac: The trial's finished. We won! Rallel's free, and she's agreed to join our cause.

Lone Wolf: "Join our cause" sounded a bit iffy, but that's great news. How is our new recruit then?

KS: She seems alright. A bit mistrusting, a bit jumpy - kinda like Thea actually. But you should be more worried about Thea. She looks as if she's swam through a pool full of Khar'shan Snapping Eels… I think you should buy her a drink.

LW: Ha ha! Will do.

KS: I hope everything went okay with you.

LW: Yeah, I'm fine. I've arranged a new transport, too. I've returned the ship that we rode in on – I hope I collected everything. It was just your handbag and your coat, right?

KS: I think so.

LW: Well, I've mailed them back to Omega. I doubt the thieves will be able to get to it though – I sent it on Premium delivery.

KS: What! You've just mailed them?!

LW: Did I do something wrong?

KS: Well… I guess not.

LW: I did something wrong, didn't I?

KS: No, no! It's just… my credit chit was inside the handbag.

LW: Crap… You should disable it.

KS: Probably. Wait… Done. Now then, I'm gonna have to borrow your credit chit.

LW: Wait, what? How do you have mine?

KS: Thea took it before she left, remember?

LW: Riiight. Just tell me if you girls feel like going on a shopping spree.

KS: Sorry Jackson, too late.

LW: Liam, please.

KS: Right… Liam... We've spent-

LW: Wait. Sorry. I haven't actually finished my work yet. Just give me another ten minutes, okay?

KS: Sure. Good luck!

…

Flight Officer Neil Hackham spotted an Alliance officer walking towards the ship. From the height vantage point that the bridge gave him, he could see that the man was quite young – in his late twenties, at the latest. Black haired, medium height, rather thin, wide-shouldered, tanned (or brown?) skin, he didn't look like much of a fighter. His determined and polished walk towards the _Horizon_ clearly indicated that he was someone with a high ranking. But what really gave him away was the holographic emblem on his right shoulder – a golden sun rising proudly above the curved horizon. This was their new captain. Neil switched on the comms:

"Attention crew! Flight Officer Hackham speaking. There is an Alliance officer approaching with the _Horizon_'s emblem on his right shoulder. I believe that he is our new captain. Please prepare accordingly."

Neil switched off the comms, put on his official flight deck jacket and got up, heading towards the ship's exit. The ship's VI automatically turned off the access to the bridge behind him.

His thoughts were filled with the expectations for the new captain. In all honesty, he wasn't hoping much. Their XO was a disaster. Quirky and over-friendly, he had demanded that he was called "Alli" when they were off duty. Neil quickly realised that the man had actually never seen a real battlefield before – filled with fantasies, naïve and almost arrogant, he was what his friends called "Videogame Officer". Hell, he wasn't even from HIGHCOM! From the brief glance that he managed to get, his new captain didn't seem all that different.

By the time he got to the central chamber (the second largest room in the whole ship, directly connected to all vital areas. It housed the CIC and the armoury, but most of the crew used it as a social hub), almost all of the crew were assembled into rows, divided by their roles around the ship. He belonged to the "Hardware" group (named by the XO), which included three flight officers, eight engineers, two communications officers and one navigator. Two Quarians, Shema and Kem vas Hidinors were there too. They were siblings, recruited by Admiral Han himself in an exchange for a large number of LM-77 Missile Launchers. Neil heard that they were elite soldiers within the Quarian Marines, and the Flotilla wanted them to gain more experience in HIGHCOM. He personally liked them both – they were friendly, knowledgeable and most importantly, got stuff done. They worked incredibly fast, fixing up the tiniest hiccups that the new ship showed.

He took the empty spot next to Kem (actually, both spots next to Shema and Kem were empty, since most of the crew avoided the Quarians). After a little more hustling, the whole room was filled with the entire _Horizon_ crew. A respectful silence filled the room. Even the non-HIGHCOM crew were quiet.

The airlock's door opened and a man stepped in. He scanned the room from right to left. Neil was amused – perhaps he did have training after all. More silence ensued.

Neil finally had enough: "Atten-tion!"

All the old-time HIGHCOM crew (nicknamed "oldies" by most) saluted simultaneously, making an audible _snap!_ The others followed, and the XO's face turned red. The new captain saluted them back, also making his uniform snap. He put down his hands. All the oldies, again, put down their hands simultaneously, with others lagging behind a little.

"At ease." The captain said. Neil noticed that the captain was trying not to look amused at the situation.

A synchronised thump of the feet echoed the floor, and then rumble of others trying to catch up. They had gotten used to the fact that oldies had trained themselves to perfection. Some of the non-oldie HIGHCOM crew even managed to follow them.

"Welcome aboard sir!" The XO said, his face still bright red. "I am Lieutenant Commander James Allison, the executive officer of the _Horizon_. We are ready to depart as soon as you are ready sir."

The man nodded. He seemed to scan his crew in detail, his eyes pausing at every individual as it moved across.

Neil felt Kem twitch, and he immediately knew why – the ship still had to finish its initial burnout cycle before taking. The XO didn't know about that. Actually, he probably knew but didn't care.

"Hello, my name is…" He paused briefly "Liam Jackson. _Captain_ Jackson. You may call me whatever you like."

Neil felt as if a hammer had landed in his stomach. Liam Jackson? Agent Li? **The Lone Wolf**? He was their new captain? Everyone in HIGHCOM had heard about Lone Wolf. Even in a secret organisation, the man was notorious for being elusive – and deadly. Most of his missions were classified, but those that weren't told tales of impossible actions… like hijacking a ship single-handedly.

_We're going to hell_. Neil thought. _I thought he was older than me_. Another voice in his head asked. _So… he's not Lone Wolf anymore?_ A nervous feeling spoke. _It might be a guy with the same name!_

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"-that we are not yet fully ready. I will brief you further once the mission details are clear. We'll therefore be idling for some time. But, unfortunately for our maiden flight, I have the need to visit Omega, so please plot a course there."

_Did I miss something? Damn it._ Neil thought.

Their Captain, who seemed to have finished analysing his crew, smiled for the first time. His black eyes shone like pearls.

"Many of you will probably know me as Lone Wolf, and it's true that I haven't worked in a team for a long time. So I look forward to getting to know you all. Please come and talk to me whenever you feel like it – I won't bite."

Neil was impressed – this man knew how to establish himself as the authority, didn't demand it. Neil felt a tiny ripple of relief coursing throughout the HIGHCOM crew.

_This is going to be interesting._


	18. Author's Greetings

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Hello everyone, thanks for reading I am the Shadow, a Mass Effect Fanfiction! This is my very first fanfiction, so it's not perfect. But thanks for staying with me anyway. The story is about a third of the way done (I am planning to finish it in chapter 50 or thereabouts).

I apologise if it sounds similar to Mass Effect 2 storyline. I tried various other plots, but none of them gave me the flexibility that I wanted – the leader of my story _had_ to have a ship to move around freely across the galaxy, and there _had_ to be team-gathering or else I couldn't think of any other interesting story. It will be different though, I promise!

I have planned an ending for this story, and I've got a rough idea on how to connect the ending and where we are. If you've got any ideas, then please feel free to send me a message! _Especially _if you have any idea on how to recruit a Hanar and a Krogan. That's giving me headaches.

I've done quite a bit of work trying to tie together the actual Mass Effect canon into the story. If you pick any character or past event described in the fanfiction, you'll find that it matches well with the Mass Effect main story. The only thing that's drastically made up is HIGHCOM (and yes, the name comes from Halo series, backstory being that Admiral Han is a Halo fan and didn't bother to change the name once HIGHCOM got big), but even HIGHCOM's history fits rather well with the events in Mass Effect.

Thanks again for reading I am the Shadow!

***UPDATE***

I will be posting about one chapter per week from now on.


	19. Launch Sequences

"You sure we've come to the right place?" Thea asked.

"Your employer was an Alliance guy?" Rallel joined in. She was suddenly regretting her decision to join. She had… a history against the Alliance.

"I'm sure this is the right place… Dock C13, right?" Kisa looked at Jackson's message again. She didn't read the message wrong – Liam said to come to C13 for their transport dressed in the "most presentable manner".

"C… 13. Yeah, we're at the right place. But I've asked a question. Is. Your. Employer. An. Alliance. Guy?" Rallel demanded.

"Where's Jackson then?" Thea asked, avoiding the question.

"That's his name?" Rallel counter-asked. She was getting quite angry and worried. Working with the _Alliance_?

"Uh, well, err…" Thea remembered that Jackson had worn the Quarian suit, most likely planning to see Rallel as a Quarian first. It was too late now. "Yes. Liam Jackson. He is from the Systems Alliance. His nickname is Lone Wolf." Thea finally answered.

"You'll find that nickname very fitting in the battlefield." Kisa added.

The three women looked at the unusual-looking starship in front of them. It strangely reminded Kisa of her hospital, especially the room where she first met Liam. Wearing the closest thing they could find to an official dress (Thea decided to stay in her lawyer's attire, Rallel went for a semi-combat, semi-diplomatic fluid suit and Kisa went with a human-style business suit), they were dragging a carriage bag behind them, full of things they bought from Jackson's credits. Right now, they were trying to locate the ship that Jackson had reportedly arranged as their transport.

Suddenly, the ship's airlock opened, and a male human jumped out. He seemed quite flustered, his face deep red as if in embarrassment.

"Miss Soracs? Miss Ghanovan? The Captain said that you will arrive here soon. My name is James Allison, _Horizon_'s executive officer. Welcome on board! Come quickly though – we'll be leaving in ten."

Soracs shared startled glances (Rallel was still thinking whether if she should run with her bag). Although they knew that Jackson was a man of many secrets, didn't expect _this_.

"What's the captain's name?" Thea asked, just to make sure.

"What? Didn't you know? He's Captain Liam Jackson." The human answered. Rallel noticed a small flare of anger as he said his name. "He wants to speak with all of you in his cabin."

"You've got a great taste for boys!" Thea remarked to Kisa as they made their way into the ship.

Rallel hesitated, frowned, and then decided to join them. The past was past, right?

…

Jackson, as much as he hated the idea of having privilege over other members of the ship, loved his new cabin. It was small, compact, yet had everything he needed (it was actually quite similar to his room in Thea's apartment). It even had the aroma of soap.

Right now though, he had other things to worry about. Being suddenly positioned in command of a ship without any prior knowledge… that created a lot of work: Including figuring out what to do next.

Before he visited the Admiral, he had planned to stay in Omega, slowly gathering the team, perhaps snagging another ship and only then finding the bomb. Now, his plans had been sped up by at least a month. Frankly, he wasn't exactly sure what to do.

Admiral seemed to have foreseen this, and sent him a note on his omni-tool:

_Jackson, I understand that you may need some time with your crew. Most of them are new to HIGHCOM and only a few of them know much about you. Therefore, I suggest on you going to Israfil. That trip will give you at least two days, more if you take things slow, to get to know your crew better. It's a suggestion. Remember, you have the full rein._

_There was an anomaly detected by SSV Manila, the ship that's currently guarding the planet in Valhallan Threshold. They requested that another ship to take a look at it. You may also be able to purchase some element zero needed for your own biotics over there, and the Hidinors (the Quarian engineers on your ship) may also be able to get some supplies with the Quarian group nearby._

_Just send me a word if you are thinking of going._

Jackson realised that the Admiral was taking careful steps towards him, as if he was a child about to throw a tantrum. Perhaps he was worried about his psych? He quickly wrote a reply, carefully choosing his words:

_Thank you for your suggestion sir. I will head off to Israfil as soon as I finish a little business on Omega. I will have the after-action report ready within approximately 40 hours. I am still very much in your debt, and you have no reason to be afraid to give me an order sir._

_May I request a couple of things for the mission? Firstly, I would like to recruit a Turian named Nekros Agius, a Turian Spec-Ops personnel. He is currently in Omega, conducting some research duty. Would it be possible that something is arranged with the Turian Hierarchy?_

_Secondly, I require a large bomb (or a cluster of bombs) – with the blast yield of at least a hundred megatons of TNT. I believe a lithium fusion, or helium fusion initiated by uranium fission will be sufficient. I recognise that this is extremely illegal, but it is a crucial part of the mission._

_Thank you again, sir. I will not fail this time._

He paused, unsure as to what to write more. He eventually decided to press send. An electronic buzz sounded simultaneously. Surprised, he checked his omni-tool. It never made this sound before… perhaps his biotics flooded it with eezo?

The buzz sounded again. It came from the door. Jackson grinned at his own foolishness. He was becoming a human once more.

"Come in."

Thea, Kisa and a Batarian filed in the cabin. All of them looked shocked, but each with a different version – Thea was impressed, Kisa was just surprised and the Batarian looked pissed off.

All four of the batarian's name went wide when she saw him. He got up, putting his hand forward to offer a shake:

"Hello Miss Ghanovan. My name is Liam Jackson. A pleasure to meet you."

The batarian kept up her scowl, but eventually took the offer.

"Rallel. I assume that you know me already, but I don't know you. And you work for the Alliance. Don't expect me to be all smiles."

_Rash but confident, seems to be a little troubled. Likes to appear tough but inwardly quite friendly. Indeed quite similar to Thea._

"It will be a pleasure to work with you indeed." Jackson replied with a smile. Addressing all three people, he spoke again "Now, I am not quite organised myself. However, I will assign you your beds. Thea, you will have F9, Kisa F11, Miss Ghanovan, F14. You will find a cabinet to put some of your…" Jackson glanced at the women's carriers. "luggages in…"

He shot Kisa and Thea a sharp glance, as if to ask 'how much did you buy?', but the only response he got was a sheepish grin. He shook his head in an exaggerated manner and returned the smile.

"The ship will begin its launch in eight minutes. I should really be on the bridge right now. I will talk to you two once we are flying FTL."

They left his room, Rallel still looking rather uncomfortable. Something was clearly bothering her.

_Most Batarians hate humans. Probably shouldn't aggravate her_. Jackson made a mental note. He took a quick swig from his eezo bottle and checked the omni-tool one last time. Satisfied that everything was going well, he left the room.

…

Tom Davies heard the cockpit door open behind him and swung his seat around to greet the newcomer. He was originally afraid to join the HIGHCOM, but his friend, Neil, convinced him that it wasn't too bad. After a week or so in HIGHCOM, he still wasn't sure about the people in HIGHCOM… but their equipment was certainly superb.

_Horizon _was the third ship he was stationed on since joining the Alliance by far the best. From cutting-edge FTL drives to highly flexible seats, it was an amazing ship. Not surprisingly, he was excited, and he was doing his best to keep it down.

But it was difficult.

"Captain on deck!" Neil shouted formally. Communications officer John Craw and the Gunnery Sergeant Nicole Ferguson also swung their seat to greet the Captain.

Neil had told him a little background about their captain: secretive, solitary and lethal, his nickname Lone Wolf was known quite well amongst the HIGHCOM "oldies". Apparently, he was feared by everyone. But to Tom, his captain looked approachable.

"At ease." The Captain seemed to look curiously around the cockpit, scanning it from right to left. He had done the same when he first entered the ship.

"We will be ready to launch in seven, sir." Neil commented. The Captain nodded in approval.

"I see that the retrofits have gone in quite well."

"Yes sir! I saw the holo of this room before the retrofits." Tom burst out in his distinctive British accent. "Frankly, I don't understand how anyone would have managed to fly this thing without feeling embarrassed! There was even a giant captain's seat where you are standing now, sir. You know, like _Star Trek_. They've gotten rid of most of those stupid things. Now, it's just five seats for five officers. Also-"

Neil gave him a jab. He suddenly realised that he's gone over the top a little. In such cases, the Lieutenant Commander Allison would have shouted at him for being too casual on-duty.

The Captain smiled broadly.

"I could not agree with you more. There was also a galaxy map over there" the captain pointed at the far left side of the triangular room "but I ripped it out. I see that they decided to replace that area with a window instead."

Tom froze. He had overheard that this ship was hijacked from the Eclipse mercenaries, but he didn't know who lead the team. As far as he could tell, this was a news to everyone else in the room, too. Neil's face went white.

"Permission to ask, sir." Neil asked.

"Granted." The captain replied casually.

"Was it this ship that you hijacked alone?"

"Yes." Still casual.

A fearful silence fell on the room, filled only by the gentle purr of the warming engines. Neil's face went even whiter.

The Captain laughed. "Why are you all suddenly scared? You all look like rabbits caught in a headlight. As I said, and I repeat, I won't bite you. There is no reason to be afraid of me. And also, I believe that's a red warning for decoupling."

Neil swung around on his chair again, getting prepared for their launch. Tom joined him, running through the list of protocols and mechanically reading out the ship's status. Others seemed to follow them with a nervous tension, all too aware of the man still standing behind them.

"Perhaps they should have kept the seat." The captain grumbled.

Tom couldn't help but to grin at the comment.

_He may be a Lone Wolf, but a friendly one._

…

_SSV Horizon_ roared to life as it finished its engine burnout. The ship gracefully moved out of dry dock and flew into space, starting the mission which the whole galaxy's fate unknowingly depended on. Only one person knew about the true important of this mission. For the rest, it was a start of an adventure.


	20. Ship Rumors

Five crates of optimised and assorted thermal clips, three-month military dextro-amino rations, three sets of combat-customised biotic amplifiers, one crate of recyclable all-purpose thermal clips, two KT-Zero stealth thermal absorbers, five weapons servicing kits, two on-field fabrication kits, couple of empty mass accelerators, two spare hard battle suits, five underlying Newtonian fluid skin-tights, one Non-Newtonian fluid ballistics armour, a dozen new MN carbon cables, etc.

Third Flightcrew Nakamura whispered to herself as she worked down the list. Those were the few things that _Horizon_ already had, but didn't hurt to have a few more. Considering they were on a far-depth, long-term mission, it would probably a good idea to stock up on them.

But what Emi couldn't understand were the boxes of _things_ that rolled into the hanger bay after that: one modified N7 Typhoon, two boxes of Brimstone grenades, outdated omni-gel converters, three cryotubes and others that she couldn't even identify.

_Oh, and a Turian._ She noted, glancing at the tall creature who was admiring the things that she was despairing at. He was well-mannered but sociable, and clearly knew more about these weapons that she did. He arrived with the Captain (whom most of the crew has now started to call Cap or even Jackson when off duty), cradling the Typhoon and looking quite happy.

He was quick to introduce himself as Nekros Aigus, taking the position of a Lieutenant (although he made it clear that he didn't care much about formalities). He seemed to have the habit of calling the Captain "Bui", but nobody, not even the Asaris, would explain about that. Talking about the Asaris, they were both quite outgoing. Kisa, the shorter one, was a little shy but approachable, and Thea, her cousin, seemed to demand attention in a good way. Emi realised that she didn't mind their presence at all. Right now, they were both still in Omega.

Emi absent-mindedly watched as Nekros got out a small set of biotic amplifiers. Ripping off the seals, Nekros eagerly tried one on. He didn't seem to worry about the fact that they were not officially "his". With his newfound power, Nekros lifted up one of the boxes that held the spare weapon parts, carefully testing the limit of the amps.

Captain Jackson's past reputation, him recruiting aliens since his arrival and the lack of information regarding their mission had already caused rumours to spread like a wildfire. Arrival of Nekros seem to have turned that into a firestorm:

The Captain was planning to conquer Omega! (started by a non-HIGHCOM)

The Captain is chasing down a second Saren! (started by herself, but she didn't really believe it)

The Captain planning to overthrow the Council! (nobody actually believed in this, so it's turned into a joke)

Most of the HIGHCOM people (including herself) knew that their mission had something to do with the Reapers, but nobody was really sure. Emi's best guess was that it was an attempt to tell more people about their possible doom, but then again, wasn't the Admiral doing that? Perhaps the Admiral is trying a different approach.

Nekros turned around, and their eyes met. She blushed and looked down at her omni-tool.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why did I blush? I was only staring! I wasn't! Damn!_ Emi thought as she tried desperately to act as if she was working. She looked up as Nekros laughed.

"There is no need to be embarrassed! It happens all the time. The last time I did that, it turns out that I was staring at a dancer! Next to my girlfriend! She gave me a good beating pretty soon. Ha ha ha!" Nekros' mandibles opened as he laughed, showing a startling number of teeth lining his lower jaw. But his laugh was infectious, so Emi returned with her smile.

A door opened and the Captain entered the hangers, weaving his way through the maze of boxes. He was reading something off his omni-tool. He quickly turned it off and scanned the room, right to left. Why the Captain did that all the time was a mystery to Emi.

"Captain on deck!" Emi shouted with a salute. Others around the hanger bay also followed her.

The captain returned the salute. "At ease. And please, don't do that too often. It's counterproductive." He said as he approached her. Emi noticed Nekros smile (or at least, that's what she thought – she could never read Turian faces) at Captain's last comment.

"Any weapons that's strikingly unusual to you?" the Captain asked as he picked up a Brimstone.

"Yes," Emi answered.

"No," Nekros replied simultaneously. "Not me. Right."

The Captain grinned. "Actually, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be writing the mission declaration for the Turian Military?"

"You know me Bui, no, Jackson, damn. I'm never gonna get used to that. The idiots can wait."

"Well, then, now that I'm your leader, am I an idiot to your standards?"

"You still haven't done something stupid yet, so … no."

Emi raised her eyebrow. Didn't this Turian know who he was talking to?

_Probably not. _Emi thought.

The Captain laughed.

_Or maybe he knows him better than me._ She concluded.

"Alright. Good. I don't want to ruin my reputation intergalactically. Well Nakamura, it seems that you should ask Nekros if you have any questions. And Nekros?"

"Yes?"

"Please don't pull any triggers. I would like to keep my crew in one piece, thank you."

"Sir yes sir!"

…

"Serrice Council makes the best amps. Have you seen the new E87 series? Their energy output is almost 146% of the previous E86-Plus!" Staff Lieutenant John Lock said as he searched up something on his omni-tool.

"Humph! I don't care. They are _cumbersome_. And slow, too! It takes 0.98 millisecond longer than the Avant Garde's! And because those amplifiers are custom-built, they have just as much effect." 1st Lieutenant Alexander Keniev grumbled.

Lieutenant Lock obviously couldn't find whatever he was looking for, so he gave up and looked at Lieutenant Keniev. "0.98 _milliseconds_. Really? When has that ever mattered to you? I know time is important, but not _that_ important!"

"Well you've never learnt to look down the sniper's scope, so you wouldn't know."

"What has pulling the trigger ever got to do with using biotics?"

_There we go again._ Jason Nguyen thought. _There's always a pair in the group – arguing over how to spell check or cheque. It's just my luck that both of them are my superiors. Please don't ask me what I think._

"What do you think Corporal Nguyen?" Lieutenant Lock asked, turning his head towards him.

_I jinxed myself._

"Well, sirs, both of you are correct. I assume it's just different for every person."

Neither Lieutenants seemed happy with the response.

_I should have left the room earlier._

"Personally though, I tend to trust the Serrice Council more, Lieutenant Lock."

"A wise choice." Lt Lock said with a smug expression. That expression exaggerated his chubby cheeks, making his already comical face even funnier. Jason bowed his head to hide his laugh, but someone behind him laughed out for him.

"You two never change, do you?"

All three of them turned around, which revealed the Cap standing within the shadows of the doorframe.

_Ah! A saviour!_

"And you never change your habit of-"

"Jackson!" Lock cut off Keniev's comment, rising up to greet the Cap. They each grabbed each other's hands tightly and gave a quick bear hug.

"So, a Captain now, hu? You are three ranks higher than us already! Damn, your promotions are fast!"

"Indeed – from a Sergeant straight to a Captain." Lt Keniev said, although in a much softer tone compared to his usual snarky voice.

"Well, I did serve the Alliance a year longer than you, Lock. And it's not really a promotion, either."

"Yeah, yeah, with you having _refused_ that position, of course everybody still remembers the fact that you should have been a Captain, especially after you went MIA for _three years_! Ha! Lucky you."

"Lucky me indeed." The Cap agreed. He turned towards Jason.

"Private Nguyen, are these Lieutenants giving you a hard time asking questions?"

"No sir!" Jason replied.

_Yes sir! But if I say that sir, then they will have my head! On a plate! With Ketchup and Biotic Amps!_

The Cap seem to understand him.

"Why didn't you come earlier? I heard you speak right outside on our way here, but you never came in!" Lt Lock asked.

"Like you were trying to avoid us." Lt Keniev added.

"Of course I didn't want to see you. You're going to ask me about biotic amps or something!" the Cap answered sarcastically. "No, I just thought this was a storeroom. I was busy for a while – this is the second time I came out of my cabin. A neat little room you've got here by the way!"

They were standing in a tight room that followed the curve of the ship's hull. The ceiling was set so low that it brushed Lieutenant Lock's (who was the tallest out of the four) hat. Most of the room was filled with two very large seats that were set inside the ground – the gunner's seats. Each "seat" was like an independent module, surrounded by screens which connected with all the weapons on the _Horizon_. Due to the complexity of the weapons and the fact that many of the guns were prototypes, no virtual intelligence would be able to handle the combat. Jason took care of the left side, while Lt Lock took care of the right side of the ship. The main central gun could be accessed by both sides (and by the pilot currently on duty) but Lt Lock had the priority control over it.

A chair with two tables were also present in the room, as well a wardrobe-style lockers for their belongings. It also had a small window where the light could enter, though right now that was closed, doused in the blue light that was in line with the ship's general theme. It was designated to house Lieutenant Lock and Jason only, but Lieutenant Keniev would often chase Lock during their arguments. All that Jason could do was to feel somewhat claustrophobic when they entered together. But interestingly, the addition of the fourth person made him feel much better.

"I don't really _love_ it, but I guess I can get used to this." Lock declared, waving his hand at his chair. "So, are you for Serrice or Avant?"

"I don't use amps, remember?"

"Hmmm, yes. I remember. You just drink eezo. That's right."

_He drinks what?_

"Why did I forget that? It's not like there are many eezo-drinkers in the galaxy. Ha! Must be getting old Jackson! Getting old! But no fear, my friend! I can still shoot at anything that is flashing and moving." Lock said with a laugh.

_He… drinks eezo?_

"I trust you, my friend. It's good to see you again. And you two, Keniev. Perhaps we can talk later."

"Indeed, _Captain_. We can't avoid your orders." Keniev said with a small smile. A rare sight.

The Cap gave all of them a smile and left the room. The Lieutenants sat on the chairs and started to whisper, just loud enough for Jason to hear.

"Still hasn't changed, has he?" Lock asked.

"No, he hasn't. It's already been years." Keniev replied, his voice losing all their bitterness. In its place was pity.

"I doubt it's because of her. No – Jackson's a strong man. It's probably because of everyone else combined."

"You are right… I don't know how he does it."

Jason wanted to ask, but he held his tongue. He instinctively sensed a dark past, something that would take a long time to heal... or perhaps never heal and leave a raw scar forever in its place. And a lot of talking would be needed to explain why their captain drank element zero.


	21. Physical Training

Nekros was breathing hard and couldn't think. Even with his eyes open, he could only see the darkness, sometimes dotted by brilliant stars of white. His legs, though battle-hardened, were having trouble supporting his weight. Leaning heavily against the crate next to him, Nekros wheezed as the pain in his chest subsided.

"Seven minutes and sixteen seconds. Great! How are you feeling?" A voice behind him asked.

He merely shook his head, coughing as he did so. The tip of his helmet brushed annoyingly against his armour. After a few more seconds, he regained his sight. Nekros stood up, arching his back and stretching his arms. His head hurt and muscles around his body flared up in pleasant pain.

_It's been… years… since I… felt like this…_ His thoughts were muddled somewhat from the lack of oxygen. _To think… that he used to… act like a Quarian… Ha! … Jackson's worse… than Sergeant Plonian…_ Nekros took in a deep breath and very slowly let it out. His heart started to slow.

"Alright, great. We're done. Great work everyone! I am impressed. Very impressed. Let's pack up. Nakamura! Turn off the Gravitizers will you?" Jackson called out towards Emi, who was standing the closest to the two monoliths.

The twin pair of machines that has been giving him hell for the past four hours finally fell silent, making the Mako tank groan. The vehicle, whose weight fluctuated dramatically during their training, seemed to have taken the pressure quite well, unlike the organics that trained nearby. All the crew were tested - only six lasted to the very end: he, Thea, Captain Jackson and Sergeant Hemmingway were the not-so-surprising four. But the two surprising finishers were Kem and Alli.

Nekros personally wasn't surprised at Kem and Shema's performance – he had worked closely with a Quarian spec-ops team before, and had actually met them both, albeit briefly, during their missions. He had always thought that the Quarians trained harder to overcome the weakness of their suits. But Alli's accomplishment did surprise Nekros. That man was more combat-ready than anybody had previously thought. He was definitely going to get the much needed respect from the crew.

In order to actually "fail" the physical tests, one had to be called off by Jackson… or faint – no resignations were allowed. Although every single one on the ship _Horizon_ were combat-prepared, harshness of their training only selected the best of the best. And sure as hell it did.

Most of the non-combat personnel were called off by Jackson after the first hour, which was just Physical Training and Target Practise. Although many of them could probably continue further, Jackson said that he just wanted them "in-shape, for now." The last of the non-combatants were also called off in the second hour, where they did a virtual, 1.5-Gee obstacle course.

Nobody went out for the next two hours, where they did variety of tests including a mock skirmish in 1.2G. Among the combat crewmen, Kisa was the first to be taken out, having collapsed during the 2.5G obstacle course at the beginning of the fifth hour. She looked much bluer than normal and Jackson personally carried her off the Gravitizer fields. Nekros noticed the delicate care that Jackson showed, though it was very brief.

Most of the others fell out soon after in the dreadful zero-gravity combat. Dressed in their full battle-gear, gravity completely removed, they had to survive the various waves of holographic enemies. Normally, it would be easy, but the artificial zero-gee seemed to work differently inside a fast-moving ship. Or Jackson fiddled with the controls. Either way, it slowed their movements, each swing of the arm requiring incredible amounts of force. Biotics didn't work, no jump-packs, or even magnetic boots, it was a hellish training. Five people collapsed, and two were called off by the Captain. Shema was called off, but she rejected, claiming that she had little more energy left.

She fainted immediately during their last training – a harrowing 3G obstacle course _with full gear_. She wasn't alone – two others also collapsed during their run. Out of those that completed the whole thing, Nekros was second best, closely followed by Hemmingway and Thea, both whom virtually recorded the same time. Alli was noticeably slower, but he still did it under ten minutes. Nekros was shocked at Jackson's performance – under six minutes. His movements were precise and mechanical, almost as if he had done it hundred times before. But every lap was randomised by the computer – nobody could have created such movement sequences, let alone memorise them. But that wasn't all; after finishing the course, he seemed to be quite comfortable. Nekros could barely hear his breath through his helmet. When he spoke again, his tone hadn't changed, still keeping the cold, commanding voice… as if nothing had happened. The Lone Wolf had lived up to his reputation.

Nekros, who's strength fully returned, quickly joined the crowd of people as they made their way to the mess (Jackson had changed his mind about cleaning). Every combat crew (almost half of the ship) had waited for them, in their full combat gear, in the hangers, cheering them on. Even the alien-weary humans on the ship congratulated him – sharing smiles, giving friendly punches and even some high-fives.

Jackson collected everyone's helmets and placed them in a neat stack at the corner, waiting at the back of the line with a grin. Nekros was too busy thinking about the food to notice Kisa falling back and joining the Captain.

…

"Officer Coutts, the dextro-noodles are ready."

"Good! I just hope you did it right."

"I do too. I followed what was written, so I hope its right. Do you need a hand?"

"Yes, could you finish up for me? Just the sauces left. I have to check out the vitamins."

Stewart passed the pot to Davies (who loved cooking and pretty much resided in the Kitchen), and washed his hand in the sink. Quickly running his omni-tool over the spaghetti, he made his way to the cupboard which stored the various nutrient supplements. The program matched the various deficiencies in the food with each of the crew's medical profiles. It had trouble doing it with the non-human crewmembers (the two Hidinors, two Soracs, Ghanovan and Aigus, if he remembered their names correctly), and only finished loading after he had filled everyone else's pills into tiny cups. The crew didn't seem to like eating these bitter supplements very much, but then again, it was either this plus nice food, or army rations.

The crew voted the nice food minus vitamins. The Captain ordered the vitamins.

So it goes.

Most of the crew, being biotics, had above-then-normal requirements in intakes of glucose, but he didn't need to worry about that: they ate a _lot_. Everyone (even the non-biotic crew) was given a chocolate bar a day, and Stewart had to cook with the expectation that each person would eat two serves.

The dextro-amino foods were always a worry to him, since he didn't know much about them. Although the Hidinors had insisted that they would eat protein bars, Stewart wanted them to eat real food. Only problem was that he didn't know how to cook dextro, and even when he did cook some, he didn't know how it tasted. Davies didn't know either, though he said that his food "feels right". He tried asking the Quarians, but they told him that his food was really good – which only made him more nervous. They were Quarians after all – they will say that they love the food even if they can't possibly stand it. Who knew? Maybe they had a separate part in their helmet which grinds the food that they throw up.

Now though, a Turian was here. Finally, he was going to get a real critic to his (and Davies') dextro food. He finished his work by adding sodium pills (he didn't even know he had those until now) to everyone's cups. People had already come in, eagerly digging into the noodles that he made. They were clearly hungry (and justifiably so – he knew how hard the Gravity-based PTs were), and also delighted to not to see the medical cups.

Stewart walked around the table, giving out the vitamins to everyone, who thanked him for the food (and sarcastically commented on how they missed the pills). Aigus was amongst the first to grab his plate, happily munching on the dextro version of spaghettis next to the Hidinors.

"Hello Aigus, how's the food?"

The Turian looked up at him, swallowed his mouthful and quickly swiped his mouth with the tissue before replying.

"Very, very good, Officer Coutts! When did you learn to cook dextro? This is indeed a fine plate of… spaghetti… I think it's called?"

Stewart nodded with a smile. "Dextro was done by the Flight Officer, so thank him instead."

Nekros nodded, walked over to Davies, and gave him a passionate handshake. Davies seemed surprised, but took his handshake, returning his thanks. Nekros returned to his seat.

"Food's always best after PT." He declared.

"Aye!" Everyone replied loudly. Rallel, sitting on top of a small extrusion on the wall (she made it clear that this was her eating chair since her first meal) also joined in. Thea was on the other end of the mess, this time eating with the flight crew (she didn't seem to care about the fact that Nicole seemed uncomfortable near her). Shema also nodded in agreement, waiting for her steriliser to process the current mouthful.

_Quarians have incredible patience, one that everyone should learn from._ Stewart noted.

Kem, on the other hand, was busy swallowing the pills first before eating the food, a habit which he found rather funny.

Cap, always last to take the food, walked over towards them and took the seat opposite to Aigus. The Turian gave him a nod before resuming with his meal. Kem, having finished his pills, gave Cap a full salute, while Shema did a quick, half-salute. Remembering his work, Stewart gave Cap his pill cup. He took it with mock frustration.

"Thank you! Damn it. I really shouldn't have allowed you to do this." Cap said with a smile.

"Just doing my work, sir!" Stewart replied and walked towards Kisa. She usually sat next to the Cap, always on his left side. He gave her the last of the cups, which she took with a tired graciousness.

Now, he had more work to do. After a training like that, where one had to collapse to finish, the bodies were going to show where it needed the most help. That was the reason why he suggested a full-ship physical training. Ignoring his empty stomach, he did few laps around the mess, scanning everyone with his omni-tool.

…

A small circular lump jutted out unusually from the outer hull of the _SSV Horizon_, coloured in simplistic grey. The ship itself soon existed out of FLT drive, its hull flashing in brilliant blue due to Cherenkov radiation. A small brown planet loomed into view, silhouetted by the star which it silently orbited. Israfil.

A light at the top of the lump suddenly flashed white, as in response to the sudden change in the speed. Soon, its outer shell popped, revealing a camera within. The drone took some time to initialise, the camera itself flexing its joints. It would soon orientate itself based on the star databases, transmitting its location to its owner in Omega.

An emblem was painted on the camera's side – a hollow circle with flailed edges, with three lines cutting horizontally inside the circle, coloured in yellow.


	22. Prelude to Combat

Comms officer of SSV Manila reported Cherenkov radiation to their Commander, who had put the whole ship on yellow alert. Everyone was already quite tense due to their situation (though some were arguably more excited than tense)… Soon, a voice communication hail was sent from the radiation source:

"This is _SSV Horizon_ to _SSV Manila_ reporting friendly presence from your vector seven dash eight-one dash three-five-four approaching at zero-point five one c with vector zero dash one zero dash one zero. Captain Jackson requests a QEC link with you."

Hearing this, Comms Officer relaxed, and so did his Commander.

"Put me through"

A young man (for Captain, that is) appeared on their galactic map. The Commander was somewhat surprised at the man's youthful complexion, but he quickly gave a salute. The man returned it.

"Hello Commander Hong. How's the Threshold?"

"Rather quiet sir, except for the single anomaly we've detected for quite some time now."

"Yes, you've requested a battle-ready ship to assist. Please elaborate."

"Of course, sir. As part of our mission, we are required to scan and monitor the Eezo Trio's surfaces at regular intervals. Recently, we've found a significant increase in the surface temperature of Israfil in specific points, from the average one hundred and four five kelvin to two hundred kelvin. We suspect flash mining, since there were similar behaviours before by pirates. However, the scale is much larger this time. We have contacted the Quarians near Farlas, who has put their ships on alert."

"I see. And the reason you required a ground team is?"

"Currently all the probes we have sent to the actual hot zones died before getting there, so we suspect at least some kind of ground resistance. Unfortunately, we are not equipped for planetary combat, and orbital strikes are not possible due to regulations."

Hong noticed a small smirk on the Captain's face regarding the last comment.

"Acknowledged. We'll go in and have a look. Remain in radio contact with us."

Jackson cut the connection made his way down a flight of stairs to the hanger, where he had told the combat crew to assemble. They stood in line, patiently waiting for orders.

"You're all here, good. As you have guessed, this is a ground operation, seeking a cause for a disruption in temperatures. It's a search mission, so all hands on deck. Our job is to report anything unusual on the surface of that planet. Ghanovan, Davies, you're on the pilot's seat of the Kodiaks. I want you both to scan the surface once you drop us off. Fireteam Zeal will take the Mako and patrol the area. Hemingway! You're Zulu One. Expect hostiles. Use of lethal rounds is permitted. If you go black due to unforeseen circumstances, someone's going to get to you, so stay put. Consider this as EVA. Alli, you'll be leading Fireteam Fervour and investigate Alpha site. You are Foxtrot One. Kisa, Kem and Nekros, you're with me. I want to see how you perform. We, Fireteam Ardour will investigate Beta site. I'll be Alfa-One. Operation starts in fifteen. I've sent you everything else omni-tools. Any burning questions?"

"No, sir!"

"Then move!"

All of the sixteen combat crew scattered, gathering their weapons, armour and whatever else they took to battle.

...

Captain Jackson had haunted Kem from the day since his arrival. Every time he saw the man, he felt some weird sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen him before. Perhaps they met on the street?

On the field however, Kem didn't feel that way. Instead of a nagging sixth sense, he felt fear.

_I know why._

Everyone had a special way of walking. As a Quarian, he learnt how to read someone's body language and analyse a person just by looking at their gait. It was a part of his species' lives, but it came quite handy when working with the aliens. For example, Captain Liam Jackson's body expressed confidence, power and passion with traces of sadness, tragedy and secrecy. He was a man who struggled with his past, had hopes for the future, and felt responsible for something larger than himself. That was who that man was… until he put the helmet on. After that, there was nothing.

Every step was calculated. Every word was minimised. Every action was done with brutal efficiency.

_He is not alive under that visor._

The machine, clad in black, stood motionless behind him. Kem couldn't tell if it was looking at him work or scanning the field in front of him. In fact, he wasn't sure if it had eyes other than the glowing red piece of crystal that covered the front of the helmet.

_I shouldn't think like this to a Captain but… what is he?_

He had heard of a human mythology creature called the Grim Reaper, which many described as a hooded, skeletal figure with a large blade. He wondered if the being behind him was the true form of the Grim Reaper.

His mask beeped, signalling that the dirt analyser had found nothing.

They had arrived at their designated place ten minutes earlier, which indeed showed signs of flash mining. Large, square blocks of eezo-rich soil had been hacked out of the rock, creating an unnatural crater at various places. Kem had setup a scanning drone and attempted to find clues for the culprit, but it returned empty-handed. Now, even the dirt analyser failed. He sighed.

"Nothing?" Nekros called out from the top left side of the crater.

"No."

Kisa (who had been guarding their back) came over towards him and helped him to pack the equipment. He like the Asaris, mainly because they usually treated Quarians with respect. The Soracs were no exception. They, using biotics to move most of the tools, quickly stuffed everything into the large buggy that served as their weight carrier.

The black machine walked towards the edge of the crater, opening its omni-tool. Its red visor flashed in the orange light. After a few mechanic swipes, the machine turned off its omni-tool again.

Jackson spoke through the comms "Alpha negative. Beta negative. Foxtrot-"

"Alfa-One, this is Kodiak Two. I think I saw something near Delta site. I can't be too sure, but it looks like some kind of mobile outpost. I'm at the geo-coordinates 89.72 East 1.23.3 North." Ghanovan's static-filled voice interrupted. That Batarian was weird, absolutely destroying her species' stereotype. The very fact that she came out of the Batarian systems was surprising from the start. Although she remained quite suspicious and weary of everyone, Ghanovan turned out to be quite cooperative at most jobs, especially when it came down to managing her new Kodiak.

"Acknowledged. All squads, converge on given Geo-coordinates. Zulu One, pick up Foxtrot."

"Aye, aye sir. We'll be arriving shortly." Operations Chief Gage Hemmingway answered. His deep voice were a little difficult to hear over the comms.

"Kodiak One, pick us up. Arrive in ten."

"Aye, aye." Davies's voice replied. The _Horizon's_ co-pilot actually turned out to be a fighter pilot too, volunteering to take helm of the Kodiaks that arrived from Omega. There were few problems with the Kodiak, especially with the modifications, but he and his sister managed to fix it up in no time.

Kem paced the site, trying to find any clues himself. It was rare that anybody got away so clean, yet here it was, one of the most mysterious flash-mining he had ever seen. Even when the Kodiak arrived, he found nothing. Disappointed, he entered the drop ship.

Inside, the baggage-buggy was neatly folded at the side, with Nekros sitting next to it. Kisa sat on the empty chair in the middle of the ship. The man in black armour stood, arms straight down his sides, near the door. Kem took the seat next to Nekros, who nodded somewhat nervously; he too was disturbed by the Captain.

The door hissed to a close and the room quickly filled up with air. All metallic surfaces formed little ice crystals by coming into contact with breathable air, but the outside conditions weren't cold enough form lethal frosts. Kem felt a slight jerk as the Kodiak took off.

"Found nothin'?" Davies asked through the closed cockpit door.

"Except for a quarry, no." Captain Jackson said as he took off his helmet. Kem was surprised at the sudden change… within less than a second, the man had returned to his former self. Captain Jackson sat down nearest to the door, watching the surface through the window. "That was a helluva clean job, whoever did that."

Nekros took his helmet off and looked wide-eyed at Captain Jackson, reflecting Kem's feelings through his expression. They both looked at Sorac for some sort of explanation, but she just gave a knowing shrug. Her body language was clear – "that just him."

"When are we arriving at the RZ?"

_What's RZ?_ His helmet tried to find a translation, but failed. Probably some human military term… He should really download the Human Military Language Pack once he got back to the ship.

"Um… what's RZ?" He asked.

"RZ's a short term for rendezvous. It's out of use now, but I like old words." Captain Jackson replied.

"We'll be arriving in seven sir, unless if you want to cruise."

"Cruising? I should teach you a thing or two about learning to manage your time."

"No need sir! Just checking to make sure you we're feeling drowsy. You didn't sleep last night."

Kem remembered that too – the Captain hadn't slept for the past sixteen hours. Normally, crewmen on a ship of this size slept four hours per half-a-day, evenly spreading their sleeping time. That meant that Captain Jackson hadn't slept for at a day… and perhaps more. Kisa seemed a little worried at the comment, while Nekros seemed impressed.

"How do you know that?" Captain Jackson asked though he seem to know the answer before it came.

"Sir, it's pretty obvious when you come out every damn hour to check the Galaxy Map."

"Well Davies, your driving was horrifying. Of course I had to check you were going the right way… Perhaps you should learn to cruise after all."

Davies laughed, his merriness ringing through the door. "Will improve, sir."

…

Thea watched the second Kodiak arrive, almost eager to see Jackson. She wondered what Kisa had meant by "he is a demon in combat".

As soon as the door opened, she saw why – there stood the machine of war, tuned only to kill. He walked mechanically out, his visor glowing in red. Kisa, Kem and Nekros walked out uneasily behind him.

"Aerial map?" Jackson asked, his voice cold and emotionless.

"Can't get it. Too much static and it's too dangerous to fly close to the enemy. We've got some visual though." Alexander replied. The decade-long sniper didn't talk much on field, and any comments he made were quite pointed. However, he was a trustworthy soldier, and his mere presence meant safety. "The Quarians might recognise these."

He brought up a number of images taken with his sniper's scope. They depicted small, disk-like bunkers at various locations around the dig site. Some showed a triangular turret. One showed a humanoid figure, carrying weapons and having a distinct flashlight head.

"Geth." Shema whispered.

Gage nodded. "The robots are here. They move far."

"But how…? Why?" Kem asked.

"Same question that everybody's asking." Alexander replied, shutting down the omni-tool. "We've got three bunkers that are heavily fortified. One on top of each hill, and another at the entrance to the dig site. There are couple of turrets and two AA batteries. On top of that, there are couple of Geth troopers patrolling in and out of the whole complex. There are three ways – the front, where the Fervour team should strike, the right ridge, where Zeal should take out a bunker, and the back path where Ardour should infiltrate into."

Nekros joined in "Once the AA guns are down – we'll handle that – the Kodiaks can take out the last bunker."

Others murmured in agreement. Thea was impressed – everyone was capable and quick, noting all the subtleties on the field and formulating a smooth plan. This was the first time in her long life where she was satisfied with a combat plan that she didn't make.

Jackson… or at least his armour, gave a cut nod.

"Execute in three. End in fifteen. Move."


	23. Combat Styles

_Fifteen…_

Nekros vaulted over a boulder, landing hard on his right leg. Though it hurt, he thanked his armour for recreating gravity… without it, he would still be floating casually down in the clear view of the enemy. Needless to say, that would be bad.

_Thirteen…_

He crept even further, bending down low. The boulders would provide him with the necessary cover. Making noise wasn't a worry – there was no sound on Israfil, only radio communications. He checked the firing mode on his gun – Maximum (Illegal).

_Ten…_

His eyes darted around the various figures on his helmet. Everything was good. He repositioned his gun against his shoulder, connecting the sights with his helmet's visor.

_Seven…_

All the dots finally turned green. They were in position and ready to engage. He eyed the four nearest Geth.

_Four…_

Nekros' finger wrapped firmly around the trigger of the Typhoon.

_One._

There wasn't a satisfying staccato or a roar of gunfire, just the wild recoil of the powerful gun. But that didn't make his weapon no less lethal. The four Geth troopers stood no chance. Their shields flared, flickered and then died, their bodies disintegrating under the torrent of bullets, their parts falling slow-motion towards the ground.

It felt weird to have a gunfight without sound. He felt deaf, unable to find where the enemy was. But if there was one thing that his training told him was – if he couldn't then neither could _they_.

The Geth troopers nearby were immediately on alert, their guns pointed in his general direction. But they were clearly confused and unsure of his location.

He squeezed the trigger again, staggering the shots to deal with the recoil. Even with the burst fires, the gun struggled under his grip, as if it was a wild animal trying to jump out of a trap.

_No animal escapes the hunter._

A Rocket trooper finally spotted him, and the small fireteam unleashed a salvo at his position. But they couldn't do him much harm, soon falling to his Typhoon.

_I am the hunter._

Smiling, Nekros ran forward, jumping into cover once more.

…

Kisa, though technically a "combat personnel", never considered herself as a fighter. Sure she could fire a gun, but even during her time as a Sorceress, she never became an elite soldier (though many of her friends praised her bravery and biotics). Thea handled most of the shooting, with herself mainly providing covering fire. She preferred the more "civilised" combat – information warfare. However, after joining Liam, her lack of military prowess was even more highlighted, especially with the horrendous PT training.

Her role wasn't all that clear in this group of elites… Nekros did the "cover fire" bit, Kem and Shema did the "hacking" bit, and everyone else handled the "killing" bit. What could she do?

_Do whatever you can, whenever you can._ Her mother used to say.

Right now, that meant doing what everyone else was doing – cover firing, hacking enemy shields and killing anything she could. So that's what she just did, using her SMG to keep the enemies at bay. But she couldn't help but to be distracted by Liam. By now, she got used to his mechanic style on field, and from the safety of her barriers, she could admire his "dance".

Liam was tantalisingly lethal. The small flick he did with his elbow every time he launched a biotic power, the patterned sidestep he took every time he switched his weapons, the way the he tucked his knees below him right after a charge, and the perfect roll he performed to move fluidly into cover… he was the blood dancer of Athame. And she saw his message unfold, piece by piece, bullet by bullet.

Kisa flinched as her barriers flared, and ducked into cover. Losing shields right now meant immediate death – the lack of atmospheric pressure might make her head explode. She regretted having never bought a hard suit, but it was too late now. She looked down at her omni-tool, which had finally loaded the geo-coordinates of the field. Using all the hacking knowledge she had, she teased out the locations of the Geth on field, and plotted them on the map. It wasn't perfect, and was more like a snapshot then a live-tracing, but it could turn the tide of the battle.

Satisfied, she sent the information to everybody, not realising that fifteen Geth troopers had fallen in the past minute by Liam's hands, outdating her map.

…

Shema was distracted. Or else, how could she have so badly misplaced the Singularity vortex? Only a single Geth pyro gut pulled into the field. The rest continued to fire at her. She pulled herself back into cover, charging her omni-tool for another Overload shockwave.

_The Geth. How? Why?_ _Do they know where the Fleet is?_

If they did, then it was a bad news. Really bad. Who knew? This bunch in front of her might be a scout party.

_In which case…_

Shema popped out of cover, unleashing a Shockwave as well as a torrent of bullets, taking out four out of a dozen units. She popped back into the cover of the crate.

_Really. Why are there here, so far from Geth space?_

Suddenly, the mission had changed for her. From a mere "job" with an elite Human group to a matter of great importance to the Migrant Fleet … a matter of survival.

That became more personal when she realised that a Geth Armature had joined the group, and was moving to flank her. She didn't know what the crate (the one she was using a cover) held, but it was certainly dangerous to stay here much longer.

_Keelah! How did I miss that!_

She scanned the field, searching for some place to sprint to. A blast radiated just in front of her – probably from a rocket. Things were getting intense.

_Okay, there! It's risky, but that's all I have. Three… two…_

Shema suddenly realised that the gunfire had stopped. Curious, she used the side of her assault rifle as a mirror to look around her cover. There were piles of scrap metal, one which was burning (though dying very quickly due to the lack of oxygen). Geth 'blood' covered the ground, and Captain Jackson was running away from the scene.

She was impressed. More shocked then impressed.

Her helmet beeped – a message from Kisa. Reloading her gun, she opened the message, which detailed all Geth positions in the vicinity.

_Great, thanks for the dramatic timing._

…

Rallel circled the site impatiently, almost bored at the lack of activity. She wanted to be firing. She wanted to do something. Something! When she joined that asari, she had expected to rush in and fight the Reapers, not enter some boring Alliance ship.

Then again, she was happy that she didn't have to fight the Reapers. The video was giving her nightmares. Nightmares that weren't all that different from the video itself.

Then again, she was with the Alliance. How could it be? Some weird twist of fate had brought her worst enemy straight up onto her eyes. This was the organisation that killed her brother, years ago in Torfan. It was also the one which killed countless number of her species. And it was proving to be quite the opposite from what she had imagined it to be.

She was furious that the crew of the _Horizon_ were treating her with respect. She didn't know how to react. So she decided to act the same way as they were.

Idling, she listened to the communications of the ground crew. From what she could hear, everyone was going rather well. The lack of external sound plus the sniper's comments were making things sound like a game of Kepesh-Yakshi rather than a battle.

"That one's down. I can't believe you guys are struggling with these." The sniper shouted.

"Alexander, just… shut up!" The Zulu leader replied.

"I can't hear you over your breathing!" The sniper.

"I said, shut up!" Zulu leader.

"I've got a higher rank." The sniper.

"But I'm the Operations Chief. I have priority." Zulu leader.

Out of the corner of her bottom left eye, Rallel spotted something. Alert, she diverted her attention from the radio and looked at the object. A Geth dropship.

_Here we go!_

Within a blink of an eye (only one, not four), she charged forward on her Kodiak, guns blazing.

…

Gage Hemmingway was feeling sick. Spaghettis never fit his body, especially after a PT couple of hours ago. On top of all that, he was assigned to lead a Mako. It was a horrible combination.

The vehicle shuddered as it took another blast. It made him throw up a little, which he had to swallow back, leaving a burning sensation down his neck.

"Shields are at forty, Op-Chief." Emilia told him from the driver's seat. He loved the way she spoke soothingly when under pressure. Perhaps it was an attempt to calm herself down, but it definitely helped him to stay sane.

"Thanks, Nakamura." Gage replied, blowing apart another target. There were only a few left now, and the Geth resistance had slowed dramatically. The operation had turned to mop-up.

"Come on everyone! You can't get tired! Especially Fireteam Zeal! You're all sitting comfortably in that tank!" Alexander spoke through the coms.

Lieutenant Keniev's comments were getting on his nerves as he tried to keep the gun on target. Oh, how he wished he could _order_ him to shut up! Even though he did have battlefield priority, Lieutenant was still higher than a NCO.

"You aren't even moving." Gage spit back.

"Hey, but sniping makes you dizzy you know?"

"Mako's worse."

Everyone inside the tank agreed. Suddenly, the light inside the Mako turned blue, indicating that the Captain had changed their alert level.

"Operation complete. No more Geth resistance. _Horizon_, are you engaged?" Jackson spoke through the comms, keeping his steely tone.

"Negative sir. We were, with a small Geth attack ship, but it's down. We'll pick you up in fourteen." Neil's familiar voice, though muddled with static, came through the speakers.

"Good. Gather evidence about Geth here."

"Aye aye, sir" Gage and others replied, relieved that the mission was finally over. The sudden release of tension made his stomach grumble painfully. He took off his helmet and asked for some aspirin. It turns out that he wasn't alone, and Mako had more than enough painkillers on board.


	24. Quantum Mechanics

Jackson's eyes wondered through the various equipment that the _Horizon_ currently carried, but no words really reached his brain. Instead, the messages that he and Lieutenant Zenzin had been sending each other echoed his ears:

_"I have been relieved of duty from the STG. An honourable discharge…"_

_"I will see you in the Citadel after I tidy up some loose ends…"_

Andjustrecently_…_

_"My location currently cannot be disclosed."_

There was clearly something wrong with this meeting. And yet the STG document looked right… except for the reason. The Salarians requested a personal meeting to gain permission to review his medical files.

_That's a fairly good reason, considering how much secrets are locked within this body._

But the STG could easily gain such permission from the Salarian councillor under the Directive Spec-Ops. Why did they want to meet him specifically? Also, why were they completely ignoring one of their former members being drafted by an Alliance Captain?

He put down the datapad and slowly massaged his head. He closed his eyes and let the music fill his mind. Music… it was a gift from Catherine. It was her soul, wherever she went. That was how she stayed with him, beyond time and death.

She liked the old ones. Ones made in the early 21st century. Pop music, they were called. Sometimes even older, from the 20th century and beyond. He's grown his own collection of favourites, ones that he listened to when working.

He never turned on the newest Top Lists.

Tired of sitting down, he got up, taking off his shoes and socks. With one soft bound, he flipped himself upside down, landing on the ceiling. His legs shimmered in red, and his head started to pound with blood. It was his thinking position.

The room wasn't designed with such manoeuvres in mind, with the ceiling hanging so low that his head touched the tip of the chair. The hanger bay was probably better, but that would draw awkward questions.

Then realised that he was a Captain. Not the Commandeering Soldier, but a full-blown Captain.

_Heck, nobody's going to argue with me._

With that, he fell back on the floor, landing silently on all fours. He walked briskly out of the door, barefoot.

…

Emi waited for some time in the little space behind the crytubes (off). Nobody else knew about it. She had given herself this room when organising the cargo that came in from Omega. This space was the only place on the whole ship where they could probably meet without drawing too much attention.

_Well… I guess the Captain wouldn't mind, but the XO will._

Alli, after his amazing performance during the PT training and their first operation (though his leadership skills in leading Team Fervour were apparently poor), had regained some respect from the crew. However, compared to their Captain, he was like a candle lit on an open field, serving almost as the antagonist of the ship. He was a lot quieter compared to the first day, but still managed to interrupt many of the crew's daily lives. Most of the crew disliked him, and was naturally drawn to the Captain, especially the female crew.

_If it wasn't for Gage, then…_

She looked up as she heard a muffled curse from the "exit". After little more shuffling, Gage's head popped around the corner. His face split into a wide smile when she saw him. She got up and gave him a quick kiss.

"Why do we have to make the entrance so inaccessible?" Gage complained jokingly.

"You're late." Emi asked playfully.

"Sorry, had some work. L.J. wanted me to defrost the Mako. Why couldn't he just lift it up with his biotics and then let gravity do the work?"

There was some sort of sound from the ceiling. They both looked up curiously but saw nothing.

"How's your tommy ache?"

"Better only if..." And he leaned down to kiss her, which she accepted with a grin.

"So what are we doing? Poker?" She asked.

"Actually, I got something better."

With that, he brought something out of his pocket. It was a hemispherical object, about the size one's palms, made of silver steel coating. Gage flipped it over and lightly tapped the bottom, then let go.

It didn't fall. Instead, it scanned their little room. After few more seconds, it projected a holographic chessboard. Emi raised her eyebrow.

"Second Rank Servicewomen Nakamura, I formally challenge you to a game of chess!" Gage declared as he sat on a small box. He dragged himself over to the white side of the board with his scary face on.

Emi laughed quietly "You've been practising."

"Did it show?"

"I guessed."

...

Jackson didn't know chess very well, so he got quickly bored of their slow game.

Standing upside-down had more social advantages than he realised, and the years of reconnaissance missions had naturally trained him to stay within the shadows. Secretly observing his crew felt wrong, but he had to know more about his crew. How they acted, why they acted, and what they thought of him.

Their mission had to be perfectly planned and executed if _any_ of them were to return alive.

Jackson directed his attention to Nekros on the other side of the hanger bay, who was fiddling with the weapons… again. All Turians were the same in that manner – they were either eating, fighting, sleeping or fiddling with their weaponry. Nekros was especially worse though: he seemed to split his time just to admire the weapons. Jackson had even caught him admiring the new Typhoon during their last operation.

_Perhaps I shouldn't have bought him that gun. But then again, he's brilliant with it._

Alexander was standing nearby, adjusting the electric propulsion of his sniper rifle. The Russian-descent gun-nut would go well with Nekros as long as they didn't start arguing. Jackson was glad to have his old friend on his team. Although outwardly sharp, Alexander was a man with golden heart.

Suddenly, the whole ship jerked violently, knocking him off his feet. He lost his biotics, and came crashing down onto one of the boxes that held the grenades. Lucky for him, he regained some control, allowing him to land without disturbing the explosives. Few surprised faces turned towards him.

"Attention Crew! We have lost propulsion on rocket two. I repeat, we have lost propulsion on rocket two... and losing three. I recommend all crew to have EVA suits and prepare for the worst. Engineering crew, please check the electric backlash along the jump systems, reading seven, five, five, zero…" Davie's fast voice came through the speakers.

"You heard him. Move, move!" Jackson ordered, rather needlessly. Everyone was moving already.

…

Shema'Memal vas Hidinors was sleeping when it happened. She smashed her helmet against the wall of her bed, and her head banged into her mask. It wasn't really a pleasant way to wake up.

Wide awake, she heard the technical details over the speakers, sorely missing the ability to massage her face. The faceplate wasn't damaged, but her actual face was unfortunately a lot softer than a piece of high-tech plastic. She wormed herself out into the open and walked briskly towards the engineering sector.

She was still not quite used to being on a human ship. Even considering all the ships he had served on before, humans' ships were especially exotic. For example, everyone on the Horizon were given their own little beds and 200 litres of storage (human measurement for volume, according to her helmet) as well as a separate locker for their weaponry.

Just twenty sleeping pods would have been enough.

But the really important areas, such as the engines management space, were even more cramped then the ships in the Flotilla. Also, the ship had two large rooms, both about the size of a junior biotic ball field, where most of the crew seem to hang around when off duty. Perhaps it was because they were so used to having large open spaces, or perhaps they were just dumb, but humans just didn't seem to know how to use space.

Thinking back, their main language had only one word ("efficiency") for the whole lot, instead of seven different words to describe "efficiency".

But she liked the setup – Shema liked open spaces too. Especially when it was some place where you didn't have to share with a hundred others, but a comfortable few. Apart from the odd jobs around the ship, she didn't have any duty. So she spent most of his time in the hangers, fiddling around with the newfangled tech that the Captain would bring.

Right now though, she had a job. She got to the entrance to the left wing – a small, rectangular hatch tucked deep into a corner of the room. She bent down and crawled in, wincing in pain as her knee bent at a weird angle.

The passage widened after a sharp left curve, and she found two people already there. Kem was already wrestling with a valve and Thea (only wearing a breathing mask) was there to assist in the readings. She was surprised that she was here, but she didn't complain – more people, the better.

"Pressure's stable at five five one." Thea said.

"I can't get the measurements for the left engines' temp" Davies spoke through the comms on Kem's suit.

"I've got it – it's one dash seven zero two nine for engine one, nothing for engine two, nothing for engine three and one dash seven zero eight zero for engine four." Thea replied. She gave her a nod, and backed off to make room.

"Thanks. Valve explosion? Doesn't sound like control failure nor instrument loss." She asked as she ran through various possibilities in her head.

"Not sure. A visual would be nice, but nobody is smart enough to put a camera next to the engine." Kem said.

"Actually, we do have an external manoeuvrable camera, but I've lost control of it." Davies replied.

_We had that?_

"Where is it?" Shema asked.

"The unit should be right below Kem."

"Wait…" Kem finished up, then moved aside. He reached down to open the metal plate, but Thea grabbed his hand. Surprised, he looked up.

"If the camera is lost, then it may mean that we've got depressurisation."

Shema saw her reasoning, and checked the space below them using her omni-tool. Sure enough, the air pressure returned zero.

The first layer of the ship's hull was breached. The engine had exploded. EVA advice was probably a good one – engines didn't normally just _explode._

"This is Flight Officer Neil Hackham, overtaking duty from Flight Officer Tom Davies. What the hell is happening?"

"We've lost engine two and three – we think it's an explosion. Engine three's okay, but its fuel supply valve is dead. We've also got first layer hull breach." Kem replied. "We should be able to still fly the ship, but we _definitely_ shouldn't be entering a relay."

"Acknowl – shit."

"What? Why?"

A light at the top right corner of her helmet flashed red. Combat status was just alerted by the Captain.

"Everyone excluding the gunners, get to the rescue pods." Captain Jackson's voice came through the speakers. His voice was hard and muffled by a helmet. "That includes the engineering group."


	25. Anomalies Happen

Jackson's eyes wondered through the various equipment that the _Horizon_ currently carried, but no words really reached his brain. Instead, the messages that he and Lieutenant Zenzin had been sending each other echoed his ears:

_"I have been relieved of duty from the STG. An honourable discharge…"_

_"I will see you in the Citadel after I tidy up some loose ends…"_

Andjustrecently_…_

_"My location currently cannot be disclosed."_

There was clearly something wrong with this meeting. And yet the STG document looked right… except for the reason. The Salarians requested a personal meeting to gain permission to review his medical files.

_That's a fairly good reason, considering how much secrets are locked within this body._

But the STG could easily gain such permission from the Salarian councillor under the Directive Spec-Ops. Why did they want to meet him specifically? Also, why were they completely ignoring one of their former members being drafted by an Alliance Captain?

He put down the datapad and slowly massaged his head. He closed his eyes and let the music fill his mind. Music… it was a gift from Catherine. It was her soul, wherever she went. That was how she stayed with him, beyond time and death.

She liked the old ones. Ones made in the early 21st century. Pop music, they were called. Sometimes even older, from the 20th century and beyond. He's grown his own collection of favourites, ones that he listened to when working.

He never turned on the newest Top Lists.

Tired of sitting down, he got up, taking off his shoes and socks. With one soft bound, he flipped himself upside down, landing on the ceiling. His legs shimmered in red, and his head started to pound with blood. It was his thinking position.

The room wasn't designed with such manoeuvres in mind, with the ceiling hanging so low that his head touched the tip of the chair. The hanger bay was probably better, but that would draw awkward questions.

Then realised that he was a Captain. Not the Commandeering Soldier, but a full-blown Captain.

_Heck, nobody's going to argue with me._

With that, he fell back on the floor, landing silently on all fours. He walked briskly out of the door, barefoot.

…

Emi waited for some time in the little space behind the crytubes (off). Nobody else knew about it. She had given herself this room when organising the cargo that came in from Omega. This space was the only place on the whole ship where they could probably meet without drawing too much attention.

_Well… I guess the Captain wouldn't mind, but the XO will._

Alli, after his amazing performance during the PT training and their first operation (though his leadership skills in leading Team Fervour were apparently poor), had regained some respect from the crew. However, compared to their Captain, he was like a candle lit on an open field, serving almost as the antagonist of the ship. He was a lot quieter compared to the first day, but still managed to interrupt many of the crew's daily lives. Most of the crew disliked him, and was naturally drawn to the Captain, especially the female crew.

_If it wasn't for Gage, then…_

She looked up as she heard a muffled curse from the "exit". After little more shuffling, Gage's head popped around the corner. His face split into a wide smile when she saw him. She got up and gave him a quick kiss.

"Why do we have to make the entrance so inaccessible?" Gage complained jokingly.

"You're late." Emi asked playfully.

"Sorry, had some work. L.J. wanted me to defrost the Mako. Why couldn't he just lift it up with his biotics and then let gravity do the work?"

There was some sort of sound from the ceiling. They both looked up curiously but saw nothing.

"How's your tommy ache?"

"Better only if..." And he leaned down to kiss her, which she accepted with a grin.

"So what are we doing? Poker?" She asked.

"Actually, I got something better."

With that, he brought something out of his pocket. It was a hemispherical object, about the size one's palms, made of silver steel coating. Gage flipped it over and lightly tapped the bottom, then let go.

It didn't fall. Instead, it scanned their little room. After few more seconds, it projected a holographic chessboard. Emi raised her eyebrow.

"Second Rank Servicewomen Nakamura, I formally challenge you to a game of chess!" Gage declared as he sat on a small box. He dragged himself over to the white side of the board with his scary face on.

Emi laughed quietly "You've been practising."

"Did it show?"

"I guessed."

...

Jackson didn't know chess very well, so he got quickly bored of their slow game.

Standing upside-down had more social advantages than he realised, and the years of reconnaissance missions had naturally trained him to stay within the shadows. Secretly observing his crew felt wrong, but he had to know more about his crew. How they acted, why they acted, and what they thought of him.

Their mission had to be perfectly planned and executed if _any_ of them were to return alive.

Jackson directed his attention to Nekros on the other side of the hanger bay, who was fiddling with the weapons… again. All Turians were the same in that manner – they were either eating, fighting, sleeping or fiddling with their weaponry. Nekros was especially worse though: he seemed to split his time just to admire the weapons. Jackson had even caught him admiring the new Typhoon during their last operation.

_Perhaps I shouldn't have bought him that gun. But then again, he's brilliant with it._

Alexander was standing nearby, adjusting the electric propulsion of his sniper rifle. The Russian-descent gun-nut would go well with Nekros as long as they didn't start arguing. Jackson was glad to have his old friend on his team. Although outwardly sharp, Alexander was a man with golden heart.

Suddenly, the whole ship rocked violently, knocking him off his feet. He lost his biotics, and came crashing down onto one of the boxes that held the grenades. Luckly for him, he regained some control, allowing him to land without disturbing the explosives. Few surprised faces turned towards him.

"Attention Crew! We have lost propulsion on rocket two. I repeat, we have lost propulsion on rocket two... and losing three. I recommend all crew to have EVA suits and prepare for the worst. Engineering crew, please check the electric backlash along the jump systems, reading seven, five, five, zero…" Davie's fast voice came through the speakers.

"You heard him. Move, move!" Jackson ordered, rather needlessly. Everyone was moving already.

…

Shema'Memal vas Hidinors was sleeping when it happened. She smashed her helmet against the wall of her bed, and her head banged into her mask. It wasn't really a pleasant way to wake up.

Wide awake, she heard the technical details over the speakers, sorely missing the ability to massage her face. The faceplate wasn't damaged, but her actual face was unfortunately a lot softer than a piece of high-tech plastic. She wormed herself out into the open and walked briskly towards the engineering sector.

She was still not quite used to being on a human ship. Even considering all the ships he had served on before, humans' ships were especially exotic. For example, everyone on the Horizon were given their own little beds and 200 litres of storage (human measurement for volume, according to her helmet) as well as a separate locker for their weaponry.

Just twenty sleeping pods would have been enough.

But the really important areas, such as the engines management space, were even more cramped then the ships in the Flotilla. Also, the ship had two large rooms, both about the size of a junior biotic ball field, where most of the crew seem to hang around when off duty. Perhaps it was because they were so used to having large open spaces, or perhaps they were just dumb, but humans just didn't seem to know how to use space.

Thinking back, their main language had only one word ("efficiency") for the whole lot, instead of seven different words to describe "efficiency".

But she liked the setup – Shema liked open spaces too. Especially when it was some place where you didn't have to share with a hundred others, but a comfortable few. Apart from the odd jobs around the ship, she didn't have any duty. So she spent most of his time in the hangers, fiddling around with the newfangled tech that the Captain would bring.

Right now though, she had a job. She got to the entrance to the left wing – a small, rectangular hatch tucked deep into a corner of the room. She bent down and crawled in, wincing in pain as her knee bent at a weird angle.

The passage widened after a sharp left curve, and she found two people already there. Kem was already wrestling with a valve and Thea (only wearing a breathing mask) was there to assist in the readings. She was surprised that she was here, but she didn't complain – more people, the better.

"Pressure's stable at five five one." Thea said.

"I can't get the measurements for the left engines' temp" Davies spoke through the comms on Kem's suit.

"I've got it – it's one dash seven zero two nine for engine one, nothing for engine two, nothing for engine three and one dash seven zero eight zero for engine four." Thea replied. She gave her a nod, and backed off to make room.

"Thanks. Valve explosion? Doesn't sound like control failure nor instrument loss." She asked as she ran through various possibilities in her head.

"Not sure. A visual would be nice, but nobody is smart enough to put a camera next to the engine." Kem said.

"Actually, we do have an external manoeuvrable camera, but I've lost control of it." Davies replied.

_We had that?_

"Where is it?" Shema asked.

"The unit should be right below Kem."

"Wait…" Kem finished up, then moved aside. He reached down to open the metal plate, but Thea grabbed his hand. Surprised, he looked up.

"If the camera is lost, then it may mean that we've got depressurisation."

Shema saw her reasoning, and checked the space below them using her omni-tool. Sure enough, the air pressure returned zero.

The first layer of the ship's hull was breached. The engine had exploded. EVA advice was probably a good one – engines didn't normally just _explode._

"This is Flight Officer Neil Hackham, overtaking duty from Flight Officer Tom Davies. What the hell is happening?"

"We've lost engine two and three – we think it's an explosion. Engine three's okay, but its fuel supply valve is dead. We've also got first layer hull breach." Kem replied. "We should be able to still fly the ship, but we _definitely_ shouldn't be entering a relay."

"Acknowl – shit."

"What? Why?"

A light at the top right corner of Shema's helmet flashed red. Combat status was just alerted by the Captain.

"Everyone excluding the gunners, get to the rescue pods." Captain Jackson's voice came through the speakers. His voice was hard and muffled by a helmet. "That includes the engineering group."


	26. Déjà vu

_I heard "rescue pods"._ _Rescue. I am getting old, but not that old._ John thought as he made his way toward the bridge. If he was mistaken, he was outright disobeying an order from a combat captain. Being his friend will not get him out of that mess.

_What is happening anyway?_

The final door slid apart, revealing four people inside the bridge – Liam, Neil, Nicole and Tom. The two flight officers were wearing skin-tight EVA suits with a breathing mask, while Nicole was wearing her "life vest" (qualified for 24 hours of individual activity), similar to the one he was wearing. Liam stood out from the group, wearing his signature black armour (but without his battle-red glaze). His figure was silhouetted by the bright screen in front of him, showing a fully-equipped Eclipse mercenary. Behind the screen was the bridge window, showing two enemy cruisers and an approaching interceptor. They were surrounded, outgunned and crippled from the start.

"… do not play games with me, human!" The figure in the screen screamed. He couldn't quite place the accent, though it was quite familiar...

"There is no game. This ship is legally mine, obtained from Operation Pegasus." Liam said. His hands, placed behind his back, flared in red. John understood the decade-old sign. Spinning around, he jogged towards the escape pods as best as he could in his suit.

He smashed into Alexander at the first bend.

"Operation Pegasus! Do you remember?" He spoke before Alexander could. He was wearing his usual N-Combative Ballistics Armour, one with the wide visor. He didn't react other than mumbling 'you forgot to say sorry'. He clearly didn't remember.

John sighed. "You're younger than me. Alright, the one where we were attacking terrorists…"

Alexander's eyes flared. "And lost Joanne and Vladimir?"

_Memories never get old._

"We've got similar situation. _Horizon_'s reverse stealth can jam most sensors. Three enemy ships – an interceptor, already on its docking course, and two cruisers. We're facing the Eclipse. We need a team. How many tactical cloaks do we have?"

"Four, excluding mine. Me, Kisa… do we need two hackers?"

John thought briefly. "Best to. Kem's handy with a shotgun. Hand-to-hand?"

"Gage and Nekros. Let's not get to guns."

"Alright. Good luck. Give me a signal using the Channel 187 echo 6."

With that, John left, hoping that this time, it wouldn't be the same as Operation Pegasus.

…

Jackson hoped that Lock understood. If he did, then they had a chance of returning home. If he didn't then… it will be Pegasus all over again, except worse.

"That ship was the source of my income! It's the only ship in the whole f-king galaxy that can outfly the f-king patrols! Now you turn it into _your_ _own._ Thief!" The figure screamed. That man had the better position and superior firepower, but Jackson already knew he won. A leader incapable of self-control was useless. Best thing to do now was to piss it off and buy his team more time.

"I assure you that a _thief_ is not my profession, but yours."

The figure shuddered with anger, and put up its middle finger at the camera. Jackson inwardly smiled; only humans used that as an insult.

"Have you ever considered a profession in comedy?" Jackson asked.

…

The last thing that Kem expected when sitting anxiously inside an escape pod was a call to battle. Yet here it was, with Lieutenant Keniev handing him a Tactical Cloaking Unit. It was different from the one he used before. Small and rectangular, it had a clear casing as if to brag about its internal marvel – carbon-nitrate laced core, platinum wiring, "Aqualius" battery technology plus light amplifiers.

It was a beauty. He couldn't wait to take it apart. He noticed that Shema intentionally avoided looking at it, clearly grumpy about being left out.

"Do you normally fiddle in battle? We don't have time. Put it on." Lieutenant Keniev growled. He quickly complied, connecting the TCU with his suit. He watched in wonder as his whole body disappeared in his sight, leaving a shimmer behind.

"I would rather not talk to thin air." Lieutenant Keniev spoke again with a note of impatience. Again he followed, his body flashing back into view.

"Meet at the central chamber with your combat and hacking gear. You have three."

"Ye-"

"GO!"

Kem sprang up and ran.

…

Neil turned around in his chair and signed that something was up. Using his omni-tool, he wrote it out – INTERCEPTOR REQUESTING PEACEFUL DOCKING. Jackson thought for a moment, not listening to the torrent of profanities given off by the screen, and eventually nodded.

"… I want my F-KING SHIP BACK. Your crew can go away on escape pods, I don't f-king care. But I want YOU as my prisoner. GET THE F-K ON BOARD OR ELSE I'll BLOW THE SHIT OUT OF YOU AND ALL YOU A-HOLES." The nameless figure hissed, then disconnected. Jackson noticed two different emotions mixed into his scream – one of psychopathic anger, but also one of personal vendetta.

_Why does he want to kill me? _Liam thought. _He'll regret it._

He held his breath and counted to three… and saw no more.

…

_SSV Horizon VI, Natural Language Log:_

17:02.57 – Docking request approved, releasing security locks. No updates on hull breach.

17:03.11 – Security locks released, unidentified vehicle docking. Releasing safety EMP. No updates on hull breach.

17:03.50 – Stealth systems reversed prematurely, releasing heat at 75% capacity. Unidentified vehicle docked. Static field balanced. Mass Effect core offline. Artificial Gravity online. Navigation systems offline. Equalising pressure. No updates on hull breach.

17:04.32 – Mainframe security overridden. Full access granted to Hackham, Neil. No personnel in escape pods. No updates on hull breach.

17:04.37 – Safety log offline. Weapons systems online. Communications systems online. Rerouting power to main guns.

17:04.40 – Pressure equalised. Decontaminating airlock. Left gun charge at 30%. Central gun charge at 10%. Right gun charge at 10%. Missile pods loading. Gunner room sealed.

17:04.43 – Decontamination overridden. External personnel access registered. Airlock open. Left gun charge at 60%. Central gun charge at 15%. Right gun charge at 10%. Left missile pods 1 and 2 loaded. Gunner registered; Nguyen, Jason. Gunner registered; Lock, John. Manual update on hull-breach; contained.

…

Nekros did this before, and trained for infiltrations much harder. So he was appalled at the security of the Eclipse ship. Although all five of them did have top-end stealth gear (long-life invisi-cloak, signal jammer by Kisa and, according to Kem, heat signature cover), that didn't explain how they managed to access the ship's mainframe without getting detected.

_Correction – without anyone resisting._ He thought as he looked at the lifeless body of the human mercenary, pushed to the side of the room. It was a rather large room, filled with wires and large computers. A loud hum echoed off the walls, which added to the mysterious, dark atmosphere. Frankly, he didn't know why he was in here. Gage and Alexander was outside, probably trying to stealthily take over the ship's weapons.

He pulled out his Typhoon, though he couldn't see it. He probably wouldn't get to fire it for this mission, but if he did, he could wreak havoc with this gun.

"Access point is ready. Miss Sorac, are you ready?" Kem whispered from one corner of the room. Kisa didn't move, still hunched over her omni-tool, breathing mask on and TCU off.

"Miss Sorac?" Kem whispered again.

"Hey, Kisa. Kem's asking if you're ready." Nekros said, passing on the message. She flinched in surprise, and nodded in his general direction. "Kisa says that she's ready."

Suddenly, the door slid open. Nekros, retracing his training, shot his hand out to grab the new threat. There was nothing there.

"Sorac! Where's Hidinors and Aigus?" The air spoke with Alexander's voice. Nekros grinned.

"I'm here, and Kem's finishing up." Nekros replied.

"I finished. Shema should have access to the engines and the weapons now." Kem said as he walked towards them. He, too, had his TCU off. Perhaps it was a techy-thing to turn off your cloak while working. Either that, or they were trying to save power.

"Turn on your cloaks. We've got a situation."

Nekros reached behind and pressed the button on the TCU. After few seconds of loading, the outlines of himself, Kem, Kisa and Alexander was drawn on his helmet's visor. He eyed the battery as it ticked away faster… 68 %. They didn't have long.

…

Jason watched nervously as the interceptor docked with the larger cruiser. Being the left-hand gunner, he had the clear view of the enemy target. Unfortunately for him, firing at either the interceptor or the cruiser will kill Cap and the infiltration team, forcing him to put his finger off the trigger. The other cruiser was out of his view, but he didn't worry – Lt Lock probably had it.

He heard some shouting from the outside door. The crew were sacrificing their safety to give him a distraction.

_Thank you everyone._

"What's the channel?" The female Quarian whispered.

_Okay, everyone _except_ her._

She had locked herself in the room with him and Lt Lock. For what purpose, he did not know. Probably fear – what else?

"187 echo 6" Lock whispered back.

He decided to ignore her the best he could.

…

Gage grunted softly as he slit another Eclipse's throat. This one was either a female human or an Asari. He gave a quick glance at his blade – red blood.

It didn't really matter.

This ship much larger than the previous one, meaning that there were many more places to hide. Their mission seemed to be getting easier and easier, and everything was going smoothly, excluding the fact that L.J. was taken prisoner.

He managed to get a brief glimpse at him – bound with biotic handcuffs, wearing only the liquid coolant wear and being held at a gunpoint, he seemed quite helpless. Kisa had almost jumped out at the sight, but Alexander had managed to stop her.

Lieutenant Keniev made a level-headed order – hack first, rescue later. "Besides, getting control of all three of their ships get our Captain back anyway." He had said. Gage personally wasn't so sure.

Again, it didn't really matter.

He pushed the thoughts about Emilia out of the way and sneaked forward. He stabbed another one in the lungs.

…

Kisa watched in horror as Liam fell to the floor. She had hacked into the ship's security cameras, which revealed that Liam was taken to the bridge to be beaten by the Eclipse figure.

Hack first, rescue later. They had full control over the three ship's systems. Why didn't they go for the rescue? Why? Why…

Lieutenant Keniev was talking quietly into the comms. Kem was reviewing the access points, Officer Hemmingway was guarding the room's entrance, and Nekros was off to rig up an explosion.

Nobody paid attention to Liam.

She couldn't help Liam alone. She hated herself for being so weak.

_But I can't just watch him._

Liam tried to stand up, but was only kicked in the face. He fell again.

_I can't stand this._

She picked up her gun and stood up. Somebody grabbed her shoulder. She spun around, eyes watering. "I'm going. I don't care if I can't help."

Keniev smiled. "Trust him. I've known him longer than you."

_How could he be so mean? How? What kind of friend watched as his friend died?_

She wanted to punch him. For the first time, she wanted to punch him hard. But his expression was so casual… She sat down, holding head in her hands.

"Look now. Liam's finished." Keniev spoke again. Reluctantly, she raised her head at the small screen once more.

"You done now?" Liam's crackled voice came through the speakers. The tormentor was tired from the beating and didn't reply. Liam slowly stood up, spinning his arm to check the joints. His face was bloody, and one eye black, but he smiled. Kisa felt a chill trickle down her back. The smile was… deadly.

"Are you going to surrender?" Liam asked again, his body glowing blue. The tormentor pulled out his pistol and pointed at Liam's face. Suddenly, the five others in the room hunched over, and a sickening _snap_ echoed the room. They all fell lifelessly to the floor.

"Do you really think I'm stupid? I only ask once. Don't worry, they're only incapacitated." The tormentor's gun was pulled from his grasp, landing far away and out of reach.

"No, I expected this. I was hoping… f—k." The last remaining Eclipse soldier spoke, and removed his helmet. Kisa drew in a sharp breath.

Underneath the helmet was another Liam.


	27. Union

Kisa didn't know what to think. The other Liam was a clone for sure. Or was her Liam a clone?

The other one was taller than Liam, and looked more muscular (though she wasn't sure – he did wear a full body armour). He also seemed much younger, too. His face lacked two things – the three scars and warmth.

Liam's face twisted in surprise, disbelief and anger. After few electrifying moments, he made swinging motion with his arms. The other one was lifted into the air, then driven harshly into the ground.

"**Who_. _Are_. _You_._**" Liam roared.

"F—k." He coughed. "Michael Williams Junior. Adopted by Elyse Williams. I didn't know you were the f—king biotic one." The other one replied, his eyes cold and unmoving.

"There is only one left. You should have known... Nurse Williams, did you say?" Liam asked, curling his fist. He was fighting a losing battle against his own emotions.

"She was the only one left after you f—king killed everyone. Why don't you just kill me now? Like how you did twenty years ago. Why didn't you kill _them?_" Williams said, pointing his chin towards the motionless bodies strewn around them room.

"Because I have changed. I made mistakes, and taking out Nadir was one of them… How do you know this? You would have only been a baby." Liam said. He seemed to think deeply for some time. After more silence, he asked again "Why did you attack me?"

William's body was lifted from the ground and propped back up. He seemed amused at his action. "You have crossed my path." He answered blatantly. "Nadir… is that what you call it?"

"Yes. For reasons too difficult to explain." Liam replied. He had made a considerable effort to soften his voice. "Where is Nurse Williams? I didn't think she'd let you join Eclipse."

"Died of cancer." Williams said, and spat at the ground. His demeanour changed, being significantly less aggressive compared to the start. "What the f—k are you going to do with me now?"

"Call your ships. Make them surrender. You know you can't win. They'll be taken to prison and serve their sentence." Liam replied, "You will join them."

"And if anyone disobeys?"

"They die."

"You haven't changed that much."

"My profession requires me this way."

They both looked at something off the screen. Liam's body flashed in brilliant blue as he launched a biotic attack. The camera was caught in the impact, and Kisa lost connection.

"What the hell?" A voice behind her asked. She looked across the shoulder and was surprised to see the whole infiltration team crowded behind her.

…

"I owe you an explanation."

"No shit Sherlock."

"Shouldn't you be doing the clean-up, sir?"

"Alli will handle that."

"I thought that the Captain handled everything on Alliance vessels."

"I'm a _combat_ Captain, Nekros. I don't usually deal with politics. Best off, too – I usually hurt people when I'm frustrated."

"Heh, just like me."

"So… who was that?"

They were in the _Horizon_'s conference room (otherwise serving as Gaming Room). The other Liam, Michael Williams, had ordered every Eclipse soldier to stand down. Many, including the second cruiser as well as dozen soldiers in Eclipse, refused the order. They ended up being cold bodies floating in a small debris cloud.

_SSV_ _Manila_ and _SSV Melbourne_ was on its way to assist with taking the prisoners, and repairs were underway on the hull breach (they decided it was best to repair engine 3 back in the Citadel, as well as getting a new one to replace engine 2).

Liam had called the five members of the infiltration team as well as Shema to gather in the conference room. When Kisa arrived, she found that she was the last one there. Various talks were already underway, but they hadn't gotten to the important bits yet.

Liam scratched his left palm, a habit which Kisa had noticed. He always did it before talking about something important or difficult. His face was already healing – there was only a small swell at the place where a black eye used to be an hour ago.

"That… was one hundred and twenty five. I didn't even know he was still alive… I'll start from the beginning. Some of you know a little, but here's the whole story… I am an experiment. A clone based on no-one."

Kisa did know that Liam was different, and also knew that he had 'special' origins. But a clone?

"What do you mean, based on no-one?" Nekros asked.

"My genetic template was pretty much built from scratch, from healing, hearing and eyesight enhancements to high resistance to biologic toxins. It's very, very slightly based off some male human, but they modified it to a point where I am not categorically human anymore. It's highly illegal, to build a sentient being out of nothing, but that's what happened."

Liam shrugged, and continued.

"They built me in a facility I call Nadir. Never found out the name, though. They only had one goal – to create the perfect, mindless soldier. It is a century long program - forty human clones for every twenty years."

Liam spoke quickly and mechanically, as if he had prepared the speech earlier.

"Every one of them receives intensive military training from birth as well as any grafting Nadir see fit. Numbers one to forty had various physical and neurological enhancements. They were all dissected before they turned twenty. Numbers forty one to eighty had internal enhancements such as immunity, healing and more modifications. All of them were killed before they turned fifteen… due to various toxin and damage experiments. Numbers eighty one to hundred and twenty had… eccentric modifications. I was one hundred and one, and I got cellular toxin containment mutation."

"That's where you eezo drinking comes in?" Alexander asked. His expression was grim and passively alert.

"Yes. They had expected me to gain some control over any poison that my body ingested. They didn't realised that found a new way for a human being to become biotic."

Kisa, who had been listening carefully to every word, had to ask this question. "Liam. When you were back in Nevos, you didn't have any eezo in your blood like us, or any eezo clumps like other human biotics. So how are you biotic?"

Liam smiled cheerfully. Kisa knew that, enhancements or no, this human being was unique in his own right, a worthy person who stole her heart.

"Nobody knows. It's like magic!" Liam did a small explosion gesture with his hand. "One day they drugged me up some eezo, and- I killed somebody. Doctors thought I store eezo in my muscle cells and release it when I give the signal, but nobody's quite sure. I just know that I can drink liquid eezo with useful side-effects."

"Back to your story." Alexander urged, his expression still the same.

"Well, as I said, they weren't really concerned about keeping me alive. One day they decided to give me enhanced neurological systems gained from number eighteen. It went wrong or something, and I ended up dying [air quotation marks on the word dying] on the next field exercise. That's how I managed to get out of the program. I was twelve or something, not sure."

"How did you find out about all this?" Nekros asked. He seemed taken back by the enormous monstrosity that humans had committed, and was clearly wondering how far the humanity was willing to go.

"I returned to Nadir after five years, killed everyone, and burnt the place down."

_Liam used to be a monster._ Kisa thought, and realised that he still was – just only when in battle.

There was an awkward pause in the room, highlighting the smell of coffee in the air. Liam broke the silence with a sigh.

"That's enough explanation. I don't mind if you tell everyone. Actually, do tell everyone. It's much better that you guys talk about it instead of me. Dismissed."

Op-Chief Hemmingway left the room first, closely followed by Nekros. Lieutenant Keniev gave Liam a slap on the back, and left. Kem and Shema (who sat still like statues throughout the whole thing) stood up, thanked Liam for the explanation, and left. Everyone (except for the Quarians, because she wasn't sure) was trying to digest Liam's story and what it meant for their job. After all, Liam was their leader.

Kisa found herself alone with Liam. He seemed to expect the current situation, and gave her a small grin.

"Surprised?"

Kisa nodded.

"Satisfied?"

Kisa shook her head. Liam laughed.

"Thought so."

Liam lightly massaged the bruised eye, whose swelling was almost gone already.

"Do you know how I changed?"

"From…?"

"A mindless child soldier to… well, me."

"No… Will you tell me?"

"Maybe. It's a story for another time."

Liam got up to leave, but grabbed his hand. He didn't react at first. Kisa pulled him towards her body, unable to contain her feelings.

He held her gaze and allowed himself to be drawn in. The time slowed as Liam closed his eyes and leaned forward. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and felt his hands lightly hold her waist. His lips met hers in a deep kiss. It was sweet and wonderful.

They parted.

"I was so worried. Please don't do that again." Kisa whispered.

Liam smiled. "Maybe. That's a promise for another time."

…

Jackson walked towards the small room which detained one hundred and twenty five, checking his omni-tool and trying to clear his head. His heart was filled with emotions, emotions which he was a no stranger to. After all, he did have Catherine before Kisa.

Except now, he felt guilty. How could he forget Catherine?

_I'm just fulfilling her wish… My final duty, which I should not have completed… How can I deny someone who loves me? How can I deny _both_ women who loves me?_

He hated his lack of answers.

The door took some time to open, but it finally did. There sat one hundred and twenty five, his head bowed. He didn't look up.

_It's creepy now to see my face on someone else._

"What the f—k do you want?" Michael asked with his own voice.

_And voice. How did I stand this before?_

"Get out." Liam said as he opened the prison cell. They were in the Eclipse interceptor, which had various small rooms obviously built to smuggle and hide things. They also served as a pretty good make-shift prison.

"What, you want revenge for the beating?" Michael sneered and didn't move.

"As you wish." His hands glowed blue, and easily lifted him up. Michael opened his mouth to talk, but Liam closed it. He walked across the connector and back into _Horizon_. He forced Michael into the seat of the conference room. When he released him, he didn't struggle and merely stared back.

"I want to make a suggestion, and you are in no position to refuse." Michael opened his mouth again, but Liam went on.

"I want you to join the Alliance. I will release you and fund your training if need be. I just need you to do two things for me. One, drop the swearing. It's bugging me, and also bad for my own image. Two, I want you to take my position once I die."

Michael's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

"I'm about to go in a mission that I have little chance of returning. I want you to take my position. Not become Liam Jackson as such, but fill the roles that I am filling right now."

Michael didn't reply. He sat thinking, and scratching his left palm.

"Why do you do this?" He finally asked.

"Because you're me, and I know you better than anyone."

More thinking and scratching. Liam gave him time.

"Alright."

They both smiled the identical smile, but one which went beyond just being clones.


	28. Thoughts

"Why me?" was the question that bounced within her head as Nicole dragged herself to the bunker. They were going to arrive at Serpent Nebula in about three hours' time, so she was really looking forward for some time off duty. That was until Agent Li (she always mentally called proper HIGHCOM members by their official callsign) ordered her to "befriend" the Batarian and stay with her once they got a shore leave.

_Why me? I don't see any reason! Does he know that I don't like aliens?_

Her new position on the _Horizon_ was proving to be just as monotonous as her previous one on _SSV Carnivore_. At least on _Carnivore_, she got to see Beta-Two, but on _Horizon_, she saw nothing special. Agent Li's aliens weren't making things any brighter, and on top of that, Alli was breathing down everyone's necks.

But the main reason why she hated her work was fear. The last time she saw Agent Li was when he disappeared through the relay on _SSV_ _Jungfrau_. That ship was now gone. Only Agent Li returned.

_Will we end up the same?_

"Probably" was the answer. Agent Li's nickname was "_Lone Wolf_" for a reason.

She sat on her bunk which was located on the lower level, near the door. She had to bow her head in order to fit herself into the small space. Her room was the only plus side to being stationed on this ship.

A room! Every crew (except for XO and the Commanding Officer, who got their private rooms) on the _Horizon_ were given a relatively spacious bunker and storage room, and only had to share with three other people. That meant that some privacy was available if you bothered to hang up the curtains at the mouth of the bunker. She did bother to do so, having purchased specially heavy and thick curtains to muffle the sound. It gave her the illusion that she had her own room.

Right now, that particular room was non-existent. Lockers were emptied, curtains were all ripped or broken and grime covered the floor. The remnants of the brief Eclipse takeover still showed marks.

_If the XO showed up now, he would have a fit._

Nicole should have been glad that the Eclipse mercs didn't decide to take the last stand in this room (that room, which turned out to be the Hanger, was quite bloody right now). But she was still angry that the Captain had allowed mercs to simply board their ship. _Horizon_ was a warship. It was designed to kill. Why the hell then did the Agent Li allowed himself to be beaten up and have a dozen enemy soldiers take over the ship? She really didn't care about the fact that his tactics had minimised casualties on both sides.

Sighing, she got up again, picking up her books from the floor and sliding them neatly back into her locker, wondering why she still bothered with paper books.

…

Nekros lay inside his meshed hammock, swinging from side to side. His horns still caught on the wires, but this was definitely more comfortable compared to the flat, hole-less human beds. His mind wondered back to Jackson's story.

_That's the power of humanity... They are eager to do whatever in order to become superior._

Nekros knew the history and each species' general stereotype. Krogans were the tough, crazy bastards. Asari were the all-superior, all-friendly race, Quarians were the creative and somewhat secretive. Batarians were almost barbaric (well… some weren't), while Salarians were equally animalistic when conducting experiments. Vorcha were dumb (mostly), Hanar were too respectful. Elcors were slow, and Turians were cold, calculating and organised.

But humans were different. Not just different, but _especially_ different.

They were cruel, eager, curious, destructive, powerful yet thoughtful… each individual embodied the best and the worst of intelligent life. Jackson served as the proof of that.

Nekros grinned as he remembered how he had first met Jackson – as Bui. An excitable and eager young kid, he had reminded him of his seven-year-old cousin. He knew immediately that he was a "special" Quarian, but didn't suspect a disguise. He sure gave him a good surprise when Bui took off his helmet showed his true face. The face that Nekros saw was one of a charismatic leader, someone who may finally recognise his potential. Already convinced of Jackson's abilities in disguise, he had decided to trust the man.

Thinking back, Nekros should have been angry about the fact that he had been tricked into befriending a disguise. But he didn't feel that way: Jackson was a man with many masks, both figuratively and literally. Nekros was sure that he was had not yet seen who Jackson truly was, and was satisfied by the fact that he had seen his youthful personality.

Nekros personally had two faces. One was a formal, business-like face for those that he didn't know, and the other was his joking self for his comrades. The two masks had served him well, allowing him to easily integrate into all social groups. He never liked his "official" self, but it was necessary part of being a soldier – to become someone that you did not want to be.

He brought his attention back to Jackson's story.

_Creation of intelligent life from scratch, genetic modifications, further enhancements, slaughter for the greater good and training since they can walk…_

The very thought… of a facility designed to do these atrocities made him angry. Had Jackson not destroyed that place, it would still be pumping out experiments. Most would die.

_But if it did succeed…_

He didn't want to think about it. According to his father, humans were a tough enemy during the Relay 314 Incident. Though young, their military conduct almost matched their own, centuries-old codes. There were (and still are) jokes told among the Turians which both cursed the humans as well as praised them for their bravery.

_That was without the modifications. What would humanity achieve with it?_

Nekros shook his head (and unknowingly tangled one of his horns in a loop). He was on a human vessel, under command of a human leader. Thinking them as an enemy would not be healthy. And according to Jackson, they had a duty that would go beyond his imagination.

That came first.

…

Rallel wasn't idle. Oh no, she wasn't. All four of her eyes were hurting, even though she had closed half of them every hour. For Batarians, when _all_ of your eyes hurt, that meant that you were in deep trouble. But Rallel wasn't in trouble. She was _studying_.

Rallel gobbled up the information in front of her –

**Poly-carbon lacing, highly effective against low-velocity projectiles or large-object impact. Cheap, light, flexible. Can be built during combat using most basic fabrication kits. Minimal resistance to heat, used often for bandages or large scale fencing.****Poly-carbon double lacing, highly effective against all projectiles and large-object impact, withstands significant stress. The name is misleading because poly-carbon double lacing it doesn't mean just two poly-carbon lacings, it means the porous structure of normal pure carbon compounds are interwoven. Extremely difficult to create but light and flexible. Used mostly in hard suits or Newtonian fluid suits. Non-Newtonian fluid suits does not utilise this.****Poly-carbonic multilayered fabric, highly effective against all types of projectiles. Flexible but very expensive. Their patterns are recognisable when under heat duress (sometimes coated over to hide the splitting patterns). Used sometimes in flexible areas of an expensive equipment or top-end hard suits. Fluid suits rarely use this, since the variations in heat may eventually cause the layers to denature.**

She never knew that such thing existed. She knew them by experience, sure, but not to this detail. And she never knew why some things blew up and why some things didn't. Now, she did.

Everything made _sense_.

It felt really good to finally understand what was happening. Explosions were no longer just "smash and burn", but _science_, one that she could understand, predict, and become its master.

Thea had given her the Encyclopaedia of Materials and Explosives, a massive book that filled almost 1% of her omni-tool. At first, she didn't bother to look at it, but the eventual boredom and her inability to start up a conversation with the humans forced her to open up the book.

It came with a comprehensive analysis of most explosives in the galaxy, as well as how each one interacted with various protection. It also came with a simulator which demonstrated the given properties. She had recreated many of her own works in the past – and was embarrassed at the waste of explosives. Efficiency. Perfection. That was her mantra now.

There was a knock on the door, which she replied by crawling further back into her bed, out of sight of the newcomer. Her room was mercifully empty (though it was equipped to house four people), so she knew that whoever was outside wanted to see her.

Thea normally came by, but she didn't usually bother to knock. The human Captain (who was technically hiring her) also sometimes visited, but he usually sent her an official-looking message before he came. So this new person was someone else.

There was another knock on the door, and Rallel responded by pulling out a pair of headphones.

…

Kisa was restless, her mind still on the kiss. On the hindsight, she was too impatient. Liam was almost reluctant, but did it for her. For her.

She could guess why Liam was reluctant. Lieutenant Lock had told her a little about Liam's past. He once had a fiancée, who was killed horrifically during an operation on Torfan. That was almost seven ago, and Liam had suffered from a severe case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

He had only returned after joining the would-be HIGHCOM.

But that wasn't the end, since he continued to lose friend after friends. Kisa had remembered Liam's combat profile – four cases of sole survivor events. According to the Lieutenant, he and Lieutenant Keniev were the only servicemen alive out of Liam's old friends.

That had driven Liam to work alone for the past three years, earning the nickname of Lone Wolf.

It was a tragic story for any person. But Liam also had to fight with his past, the truth about his existence. He had no home to go to, he had no place of origin. No mother or father. No family. No place to go to start afresh.

Kisa knew the importance of starting afresh. She herself had done it a number of times over the years, returning to Thessia whenever anything bad happened to her life. She had done that when her auntie died last year – returned to the Shrine of Atheme, where she first heard of the goddess. It was the place she visited when her father died a mere century ago. And, far back in the past, she had visited it when she had her first heartbreak. She was childish back then – only thirty! She smiled at the memory now. She thought the world had ended for her, the purpose of life puffed into the thin air. How ignorant she was!

Kisa reached up and wiped away her tears; tears for Liam's sorrow. There was no Shrine for him.


	29. Salarians

Zenzin knew this was going to happen, so he was glad that it was finally over. Every STG members knew it: It was part of the service contract – within the space of three months of their retirement, the military had to right to call them back to battle for one last mission. It was supposed to help the military to re-adjust to losing an important member… but most of the time, it was taken advantage of. That was the reason why STG called him back to analyse a petty artefact they found. Zenzin decided not to complain – he did manage to reassert himself as one of the best ancient-technology scientists in the galaxy.

He traced the emblem on his left arm, remembering the edge that was chipped off in battle. It was the last time he would wear this emblem, and he knew he would feel empty without it. Perhaps another one may take its place, but nothing else would make him prouder than this triangular shape that no civilians bothered to notice.

Zenzin looked ahead, puzzled as to why he did so. He felt something – a soldier's sense of foreboding, or just twitchy nerves. He was in the Citadel, leaving the Embassies after the second ceremonial farewell. As always, the hallways were crowded with people. Diplomats, economists, reporters, high-ranked military men. All with status, power and money.

One man particular caught his eye, mainly because he was deliberately trying not to be seen. He was a small human, wearing a nicely polished Alliance uniform and a Captain's badge. Big rank, sure, but that wasn't the reason why Zenzin started to follow his movements. The man had three small facial scars but a welcoming face, which was currently set in careful expressionlessness. He walked confidently with a relatively quick gait, but neither his clothes nor his body made any sound as he walked. He seem to unknowingly shadow other people's movements, blending in perfectly within the crowd.

Zenzin caught a glimpse of his chest as he approached – L. Jackson.

He jumped back in surprise – here was the man that Doctor Solus had ordered him to join! He had only known him electronic messages… imagined him to be much taller and muscular, probably with some tattoo on his arm. But no, this human was… smooth yet strong, for the lack of better description.

Zenzin moved towards the man, glad to see him at last. Regardless of who he was, this man was going to provide him with continuing excuse to leave his home.

He bumped into a Turian guard, who shot him a dirty look. He adjusted his walk slightly to make sure that the Turian could see his emblem. The guard's eyes widened at the STG symbol, and her hurried away.

_Exactly._

Zenzin turned his attention back to the Alliance man… or lack thereof. He blinked, and searched the crowd again, but the man had disappeared.

_Impressive. Or I'm hallucinating. Which reminds me, I should probably visit the Alliance office._

…

Admiral Han was resting from work when his desk beeped. He drew on last breath, then folded his omni-cigar into his pocket.

"Yes?"

"Sir! There is a Salarian who wants to see you. He was in the Alliance Military Office with a pistol and a full set of armour requesting to meet with you. We have detained him, though we are unable to take any action because he was a former STG. What do you want to do, sir?"

The Admiral felt his hair rise in panic.

"Identity?"

"Lieutenant Coron Zenzin, sir."

The Admiral recognised the name from one of Agent Li's messages, sending his panic over the edge.

"Don't hurt him! Send him in. Weapons and armour granted."

"Sir!"

Admiral calmed himself down. The security was doing a good job, but they were doing _too_ well. Did they not know that they could have caused a diplomatic incident? The Admiral fiddled with his uniform, straightening the creases that were already straight. He glanced at his shoes, which hadn't been polished for three days. They were losing their mirror-like gloss but still looked presentable enough. Finally, he checked his hat, making sure that the Alliance mark was in the dead centre.

By the time he had adjusted his uniform twice, the door of his office opened. A Salarian soldier entered the room, standing straight and tall. He had the atmosphere of pride around him, which the Admiral liked. His armour was scratched in many places, though it was shined and polished, intentionally highlighting the battle-scars like trophies.

"Admiral Han? Greetings. My name is Coron Zenzin, former Salarian Special Tasks Group member. I apologise to barge in like this… It is an honour to meet you." The Salarian spoke at a comfortable pace.

"Nice to meet you Lieutenant Zenzin. You are being recruited by Captain Jackson, is that correct?" The Admiral asked after shaking his hand. The Salarian only reached to his shoulder height, but he didn't seem daunted by that fact. Come to think of it, he was just as tall as Jackson.

"It seems so. I wished to present myself to you first beforehand and learn a little about this other Spec-Ops group." The Salarian replied.

"Well Lieutenant, you did not need to see me beforehand. Captain Jackson has full control over his crewmembers, so it was unnecessary. However, I appreciate your deeds. Regarding the explanations of HIGHCOM… that will be long and difficult and it is best if I send you documents instead of explaining." The Salarian nodded, understanding the busy life that many superiors led.

"Thank you kindly."

"Right now though, I would like to welcome you to HIGHCOM. Although I cannot make you into an Agent yet, you will soon find many advantages in politics and security…"

Their chat went for a little longer, but soon returned to the crucial point.

"Now, you should meet your new Captain. He's an interesting man, but one that I personally trust. He is actually in one of the STG offices right now, so perhaps you should go to greet him."

"That would be a good idea, sir. Which office is he in?"

"Irregular Cargo Management, I believe. A strange place to have a meeting."

The Salarian looked a little shocked. He quickly thanked the Admiral for the meeting and left.

…

Jackson followed the Salarian's lead, willingly letting himself fall into a trap. It was mostly out of curiosity, since he couldn't think up of any reason why the STG wanted him dead. He was hoping that these Salarians didn't need much convincing to start talking.

They were in a heavily guarded complex, in the part of the Citadel that Jackson had not yet visited before. It went _inside_ the actual hull of the Citadel, a place strictly forbidden to civilians. The fortress was refurbished in the traditional Salarian style.

And that meant heavy gates, armed guards and cameras.

It was a place where nobody was welcome. The people acted that way, too, only minding their own business and ignored whoever was passing by.

They made their way through the complex maze of corridors and entered a dead-end room. Jackson scanned it. A circular table, no cameras, a heavy, iron-weaved box in the centre and three more Salarians with guns. With their entry, there were now seven Salarians. It was lit in scientific examination lights, highlighting the contrast of profiles.

The door slid shut, then sealed itself with gaseous hiss.

"Apologies Captain Jackson for… rather unwelcoming environment. This room was the one with the best security." His Salarian guide said as he offered him a seat. Jackson sat down, acutely aware that he was trapped.

"No need to fret. Let's get to business." He replied.

"Indeed, Captain." The Salarian guide replied, sitting opposite to him. Jackson only then noticed his eyes – it had a faraway, trance-like expression… one of the first signs of indoctrination.

_Shit_

"The reason for your meeting today is to gain permission from you to access your medical profiles."

"Which you have already. I believe the real reason is in this box." Jackson replied, not bothering to hide his charging biotics. The air filled with static as his body flickered with poisonous blue, but none of the people in the room seemed to care.

_Double shit._

"Indeed. You are worthy of Their interest." The Salarian said with a small smirk. He reached forward and opened the box.

Jackson felt a sharp jab in his left shoulder. His body reacted before his mind, turning around and landing a hard punch into the thin air. There was a heavy thud, and a Salarian's body appeared. Jackson's punch had destroyed his cloak, and probably some bones, too. A syringe, its contents emptied into his bloodstream, fell from his shoulder and shattered as it hit the ground.

Everyone else in the room stood still as stone, and expectantly stared at him. Jackson turned to face the box.

Within was a piece of exotic metal plate. Though he couldn't tell where it came from, he could guess well enough. It was a Sovereign fragment.

_**We meet again.**_

_No!_

_**Paths of chance is set.**_

The other Salarians slowly approached, while Jackson staggered from poison. He felt his senses slipping away, focusing sharply on the voice.

_**Why do you resist?**_

_Get out of my head!_

_**The cycle must continue.**_

Jackson lashed out, but he could no longer summon his powers. Whatever that Salarian injected, it was specially designed against him. He struggled to stay upright as his world spiralled away.

_Stupid scientists. Resistance against toxins? That's working sooo well, isn't it?_

_**The experiment is perfect.**_

_Some people said that to me. They're all dead._

A third mind entered his ravaged consciousness, awoken from its infinite slumber. It did not speak, but watched patiently for his orders.

_Not yet. Not here…_

…

_**I see. Your petty presence is divided.**_

_Didn't I tell you to get out?_

One of the Salarians grabbed his arms and pulled them together. Another pointed his gun at his head. The metallic fragment seem to shiver, as if alive with excitement.

_That's it. Whatever. Go. All of them here._

…_!_

…

Jondum Bau heard gunshots from room 101, and immediately knew that his suspicions were correct. He had been tracking the Geth Analysis team's movements for the past three weeks, which had led him to this mysterious meeting. They have been behaving in a very peculiar manner, accessing databases and resources that did not relate to their work. He had let them continue, interested to see how far they would go.

But this was enough. He could not risk a diplomatic incident, especially with a Spec-Ops approved organisation.

He swiped his hand over the black panel, which should have opened the door. Instead, it stayed silent. He tried again, but the black panel didn't react. Frustrated, he pulled out the panel with his omni-blade, hot-wiring the controls.

Somebody ran around the corner, puffing in exhaustion. Bau pulled out his pistol to confront the newcomer.

"Spectre Bau! This is Zenzin, sir!" The Salarian said. Sighing in relief, Bau lowered his weapon but did not holster it.

"Zenzin, good to see you. Quick! Help me take down this door!"

They both flinched as something hit the door with a loud clang. The human didn't have a lot of time.

"Yes sir!" Lieutenant Zenzin said as opened his omni-tool. The security of the room was the best that money could offer, but Bau knew its weaknesses.

"Stab the place half a meter to the right, fourty two centimeters down when I say three." Bau said, finally connecting the last wire together. He wrapped his fingers around the final cord.

"One, two, three!"

The door popped open, and a body tumbled out from the inside, covering the metal floor with blood. Bau noted a scent of chill wafting through the doorway as he raised his weapon to head height.

A figure jumped out, landing on top of him and knocking his gun away from his hands. He fell to the ground, landing on his back painfully. He opened his eyes to face the assailant and was traumatised at the sight.

He was a human male, at most in his early thirties, wearing what used to be an Alliance uniform. It was now covered in green and red – a mix of human and Salarian blood. His face looked friendly enough, save for three unnoticeable facial scars. However, his expression was empty, devoid of life, save for the eyes which flared in furious anger. He raised his fist to strike, but stopped.

The fire in his eyes died.

"Captain Jackson?" Zenzin asked, unsure if he should shoot him or not.

The human nodded and got up, offering his hand as support. Bau took it, still too aware of his bloody hand.

"Sorry. I thought you were an enemy." He said. He then closed his eyes, lost his balance, and collapsed backwards. Zenzin caught him during his fall, and looked towards Bau, waiting for further orders.

"Take him towards the hospital but put him on a temporary travel ban. I need to know what happened in there."

More people arrived at the scene, surprised at the presence of a Spectre. They were even more surprised when they saw the chaos. Zenzin ushered the onlookers away, asking them for medics.

Bau picked up his pistol and entered the room, fearful of what he might find inside.


	30. Aftermath

"The patient really needs rest, miss. I'm sorry, but you can't visit him."

"Not even just to say hello?"

"Nurse, I'm sure he's not getting any rest with that Salarian."

"He's a Spectre, and we couldn't deny his entry. We have warned him that he needs rest…"

Kisa was furious, yet shivered as her sweat evaporated into the cold hospital air. She sat down on the chair nearby, calming herself without much success. She was a qualified nurse, so she knew the importance of resting. She also knew that this so-called "rest" was usually for the nurse, not the patient.

Thea was next to her, carrying a bag full of training gear. They had been in the gym, with Thea trying to bring Kisa up to the new standards of physical supremacy. She had gladly took the position of power, declaring that she will "whip a soldier out of" Kisa. But her new position did not grant her the power to hold Kisa back when they heard about the news.

Poison, was Alli's short message to the crew.

Kisa had come at once, and found him in the critical patients section of Heurta. He was conscious by the time they had arrived, but was being questioned by an unknown Salarian. Another one waited outside, curiously eyeing their presence.

Thea nudged Kisa with their bag. No response.

Nudge.

"I'll be waiting at the lounge." Thea declared, and walked out of the busy hallway. She sat down on one of the fluffy cushiony chairs, dumping the bags next to her. She looked back down the hallway, and saw Kisa still sitting, her eyes fixated onto the door.

Thea smiled. It was rare to see her cousin so determined, even to the point of annoying others.

The Salarian, who had been waiting outside, approached her cautiously, artfully avoiding the medical staff and their delicate instruments. She recognised his armour design as one from the Special Tasks Group. He was just as tall as Jackson, and had oily green skin and brown eyes. He seemed to have a small face, making his eyes bulge out. If you ignored his gun and squinted a little, he looked cuddly.

"Greetings. My name is Coron Zenzin. Are you an acquaintance with Captain Jackson?" He asked when he came close enough. Thea motioned him to sit down, which he did.

"Emmhhhmm. A bit more than an acquaintance, but I guess that's right. Do you know him? I'm Thea by the way." She held out her hand, and Coron shook it firmly.

"Yes. It seems that he wanted to recruit me."

_Oh! So this is our Salarian crewmen? STG is a nice choice. Better than the one I had in mind… We can tick that one off the list._

"So… do you know what happened? Why he was poisoned?"

Coron shook his head.

"I only arrived to find him attempting to attack me and Spectre Bau. He just collapsed after that."

_Jackson tried to attack him? Why?_

Thea was suddenly alert, poised to fight the man in front of her. Jackson's battle instincts were rarely wrong… there would be a reason why Jackson attacked this Salarian.

_He has a gun in the hospital. Out in the open, too. Of course he's dangerous._

They both turned their head back towards the room. The door slid open, and a grim-faced Salarian walked out. Kisa jumped up, and attempted to walk right in, but was confronted by the nurse. Before they could start arguing again, a voice from the room called out, and they both rushed into the room.

Thea and Coron both stood up, and walked to meet the Spectre. The Spectre Salarian gave her a quick nod, then motioned Coron to follow him. They both left the building on an elevator.

_Leaving me out? Whatever. I've got secrets that neither of you will understand anyway._

Thea thought as she returned to her seat. She knew that Kisa would rather spend time alone with Jackson. She opened her omni-tool, browsing through articles on the news headlines.

…

Kisa stood up when the Salarian finally came out. She wanted to get in, to see if Liam was alright. Curtains were drawn over the room, hindering Liam away from her sight. She had to at least meet him, say hello or perhaps even hold his hand.

The human male stepped between her and Liam, and she felt her anger spark up.

"I'll be fine! I am a trained nurse too! I'll just stay back."

"Miss, the fact that you are a nurse does not matter. I've told you already. The patient needs rest, and I can't let you in. If you are really a nurse, then you should know the importance. He will be exhausted after that questioning."

"I'm exhausted?"

Liam withdrew the curtains, smiling cheerfully at Kisa as he slid out of the bed. He was wearing the standard hospital gowns and had bandages across his neck and shoulder. There were two intravenous hoses leading out from his left arm. His hands, which were swollen a little, were also wrapped in tight bandages. Thin trails of blue smoke rose between the gaps. He did look tired, but otherwise in a good mood.

"Liam!"

"Sir! You shouldn't be standing up!"

They both entered the room in a rush. The human nurse forced him back onto the bed, which Liam complied. But he refused to lie down, claiming that he was better off moving around.

"But sir, you have severe cases of muscle trauma. They need time to heal."

"I think they already had plenty." Liam said as he reached for a small bottle on the bedside. He unscrewed the lid and drank from it, much to nurse's surprise. Kisa suppressed a giggle.

"What? But… how? Your muscles needed time to regrow…"

"You did give me wonderful treatments, and my body took them very well. Thank you. Now, would it be okay if I get a little time with my friend over here?"

"… I guess so. Let me check your vitals first."

The human checked the machines and his omni-tool, whispering surprised remarks every now and then. Both Kisa and Liam watched him with amused expressions. Eventually, he left the room looking shell-shocked. A comfortable silence filled the room, occasionally interrupted a whine of a car flying too close to the building. Kisa sat down on the bed, next to Liam. They both stared out the window, watching the rivers of life flow by.

"Are you alright?" Kisa eventually asked.

"Wouldn't mind some rest." Liam replied.

"You seem to have a knack for getting yourself hospitalised."

"Ha! You weren't the first one to say that."

As their ears got used to the silence, other noises started to get louder. The drip of the liquids, the low mechanic hum, their slow breathing, their regular heartbeat.

"Poison?"

"Not really. It was something like an Elephant Tranquiliser."

"Oh… Elephant?"

"It's an animal from Earth. Come to think of it, I haven't seen one in real life."

Liam opened an omni-tool and searched up the animal. It looked similar a Gwa. Gwas were native Thessian mammals, notorious for eating huge amounts of plants. They lacked tusks and the large ears, but they both had the barrel bodies and trunks. Gwas had a translucent-orange skin, and slightly shorter legs. Kisa opened her omni-tool and got up a picture of a Gwa. The couple spent lazy minutes comparing the two animals.

"It's funny how similar animals are, even when they evolved uniquely, half a galaxy away." Liam concluded.

"Like us?"

Liam thought for a moment.

"I think we have more in common than elephants and Gwas."

Kisa smiled and put her hand over Liam's.

…

Zenzin knew something was wrong when he saw Spectre Bau tap his thighs. It was an expression of nervousness, which was rarely done amongst Salarians. Expressing one's emotions was usually detrimental to whatever the social relationship they had.

So something was wrong.

The elevator closed, with Avina's voice chiming in on their status.

"Spectre Office." Bau asked.

Zenzin punched in the locations, and looked curiously at the Spectre. The Spectre Office was arguably the most secretive location in the Citadel, so there was usually a very good reason when a Spectre allowed an outsider into the Offices…

Something was _definitely _wrong.

The elevator arrived at the Embassies. Zenzin had always thought that the name was misleading – the whole building, which housed various other diplomatic offices and Spec-Ops headquarters, shouldn't be called the "Embassies". They stepped out and walked briskly up a flight of stairs, soon arriving at the secured entrance of the Spectre Office. Zenzin realised that he had never been inside that room before, having walked past it numerous times but never really thinking about its secrets. What went on beyond those vaults? What duties and sacrifices did its users make?

The door beeped, then asked for the access confirmation – Zenzin's presence had thrown it off. Bau tapped the holographic message impatiently, giving Zenzin a temporal access into the Offices. The program accepted, then opened.

Behind the doors was a dark, metal-covered corridor, setting a hostile message to all visitors. Zenzin unconsciously moved closer to the Spectre, who seemed unfazed by the atmosphere. They turned left at the first intersection and into another corridor of similar design. Each room in this corridor was marked with a nameplate – one for every active Spectre. There were fifty rooms, but only twenty two were being used right now. At the far end of the corridor was a Wall of Honour, listing all of the past Spectres' names and origins (even Saren Aterius' name was there, though his name was crossed out in red light).

Spectre Bau opened his own room and ushered Zenzin inside. It was a small office furnished by a Minimalist artist. The room had a wall of screens, a table, two chairs, a fridge and a computer, all carefully arranged with mathematical precision.

"Take a seat."

Zenzin sat down, his hands coming together in a respectful grasp. He was shocked when Bau offered him a drink, since it was an act normally reserved for important meetings (i.e. marriage contracts). Zenzin accepted, and received a cup full of purplish liquid. Bau took his own seat, his cup already half-empty.

"That human... planning to recruit you?"

"Yes. Doctor Solus asked, I can't really refuse."

"Understand your position. I will also ask you to join him."

Zenzin hadn't expected the conversation to flow like this.

"Is there a particular reason?"

"Yes. That human… dangerous, sharp, smart. You saw what he was capable of."

Zenzin remembered the horrific scene back in room 101 – seven Salarians slaughtered in a fight. Four with a neat gun wound in head, two punched to pulp and one without a head after an unstable biotic slam. He took a sip from his cup.

"Also doing very dangerous things. Claims to be fighting the Reapers."

Zenzin remembered another horrific scene – the aftermath of the Geth Invasion in the Citadel. The human Spectre, Shepard, had claimed that it was only the beginning of a real thing, a galaxy-wide extinction by being called the Reapers. He, and most of the STG had been discouraged from discussing that in public, but many still talked about it in the back stages, fear imbedded deeply into their hearts. Zenzin personally didn't believe it – nothing could be powerful enough to wipe out the entire Galaxy. Nothing.

"Spectre Bau. These "Reapers" are just conspiracies."

"Disagreed. Spectre Shepard had claimed of their forthcoming. I am inclined to believe in a man as dedicated as him. He saved the Citadel, too."

"The Council…?"

"Council afraid of repercussions. Afraid of diplomatic pressure of dealing with such a threat. Understandable. Still unacceptable."

Zenzin knew only too well exactly what he meant.

"This male… also dedicated. Perhaps more dangerous than Spectre Shepard… Not sure. Still, his work crucial. Only one with the clue against the Reapers. Would like to help him myself if I can."

There was a short break in the conversation where both Salarians emptied their cups.

"So join him. Ethically clean, politically correct but suicidal at best. Be careful. Very dangerous. Very very dangerous… But yes."

Zenzin nodded, fully knowing that he is hurtling towards certain death. Yet he wasn't afraid… just dull. Death was an enemy, but one that was so close, it almost felt like a friend. He sighed, letting the brutal reality overwhelm him just this once.


End file.
